Champions League: Are Barcelona and PSG Too Good For Their Opponents?
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
PSG vs Aston Villa: Parisians one of bookmakers’ top favorites
After their upset victory over Liverpool in the round of 16 (owing to a fantastic display at Anfield), PSG have shot up the bookmakers’ odds board and are now the second favorites at many of the top online betting sites to be crowned champions.
They’ll face off against an in-form Aston Villa side that has been performing admirably in their return to Europe’s top tier club competition for the first time in over 40 years.
It’s tough to see past PSG here, at least in the first leg. They’ve been lights out at the Parc des Princes, winning nine of their last 11 across all competitions. Meanwhile, Aston Villa have had their struggles when playing away from Villa Park. While they’ve seen an uptick in their away form lately, their combined Premier League and Champions League away record on the season reads: nine wins, one draw, nine defeats.
Aston Villa will have to take Ousmane Dembele out of the game as much as possible if they are to spring an upset. The 27-year-old Frenchman is enjoying the best spell of his professional career and has scored an incredible 27 goals in his last 23 appearances, including the winner at Anfield in the previous round. To see what our experts think, we recommend heading over to our PSG vs Aston Villa preview!
We’ve accumulated a few of the key stats for both teams below:
| Category (rank) | PSG | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
| Goals per match | 2.1 (8th) | 1.9 (11th) |
| Goals conceded per match | 0.8 (5th) | 0.7 (4th) |
| Expected goals | 26.7 (3rd) | 16.1 (13th) |
| Expected goals against | 10.8 (4th) | 10.6 (3rd) |
| Touches in the opponent box | 472 (2nd) | 261 (15th) |
| Big chances created | 55 (2nd) | 23 (19th) |
Luis Enrique vs Unai Emery
Enrique has historically had the edge over his compatriot, dating back to their battles in La Liga, as well as the 2016/17 Champions League, when Emery was in charge of PSG and Enrique leading Barcelona. Fans will remember that clash in the champions league as it produced one of the competitions best ever comebacks. Enrique’s Barca famously came back from a 4-0 first leg deficit with a 6-1 win in the return leg!
Check out their head-to-head record below!
- Matches: 10
- Luis Enrique wins: 7
- Draws: 1
- Unai Emery wins: 2
- Enrique goals: 25
- Emery goals: 15
Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund: goals promised
Barcelona will have dreams of a quadruple this season. They have a four-point lead atop La Liga, have already captured the Spanish Super Cup, and are into the final of the Copa del Rey. To top it off, the oddsmakers have the Catalan side as the current favorites to lift the trophy.
Their opponents have been struggling in domestic competition and are facing the increasing reality of having to win the Champions League in order to participate in next season’s.
These two actually faced off in the League Phase back in December and provided one of the more entertaining matches of the campaign so far. On that occasion, it was Ferran Torres who proved to be the decisive figure, netting twice in the final quarter hour to secure a 3-2 away victory for the Blaugrana.
This time around, they’ll be in front of the local support at their temporary home Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium (while the Camp Nou undergoes renovations).
Barcelona’s dynamic duo
Barcelona have been an irresistible attacking side in the 2024/25 Champions League and have provided some memorable shootouts. They’re the leading scorers with 32 goals and are powered by Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. The pair have combined for 20 goals, with Brazilian Raphinha leading the UCL scoring charts (11 goals) while Lewa is fourth (9 goals).
Can last season’s finalist spring a surprise on a Barcelona side seeking it's first Champions League title since 2015? Unfortunately for Dortmund, the Germans haven’t fared well against Barcelona, failing to win in their last five meetings (D2, L3).
Take a look at some of the team’s key stats for these two teams below:
| Category (rank) | Barcelona | Dortmund |
|---|---|---|
| Goals per match | 3.2 (1st) | 2.3 (3rd) |
| Goals conceded per match | 1.2 (10th) | 1.4 (14th) |
| Expected goals | 24.5 (5th) | 22.9 (7th) |
| Expected goals against | 14.3 (12th) | 15.6 (17th) |
| Touches in the opponent box | 279 (12th) | 333 (8th) |
| Big chances created | 41 (5th) | 38 (7th) |
As you can see, these two squads have put up some impressive attacking numbers. Will we see another shootout? See what our experts think in our Barcelona vs Dortmund preview!
