The Dangers Of A PSG Without Neymar In The Camp Nou

PSG, like Barça, have been punished by injuries with only one week to go before the Champions League round of 16 match at the Camp Nou. Ángel Di María and Neymar will be out for the first round, which is a strong relief for the Catalans, especially with the Brazilian, who put all the morbidity to a game loaded with tension. However, the reality is that Mauricio Pochettino's team has plenty of offensive potential, as Kylian Mbappé, Moise Kean and Mauro Icardi can sink their teeth at any time . Of course, the losses of 'Fideo' and Neymar will cause the supply of key balls to decrease , since the Argentine is the maximum assistant of the French with a total of 12 so far this season and the Brazilian has given another five.

It remains to be seen how Pochettino manages the absences of Neymar and Di María at the blackboard level, since the usual 4-3-3 could be modified to a 4-4-2 with Mbappé and Icardi or Kean at the top of the attack. If this were the Argentine coach's choice, Icardi would start as the favorite and Kean would start on the bench. This system would allow PSG to protect themselves a little more, taking into account that it is a first leg and that the French team is a visitor. Another option, although more remote, would be to align Sarabia as a 'false' extreme and move Mbappé to the other band, leaving Icardi as a reference.

In any case, and drawings on the sidelines, it is no secret that PSG will find in the speed and potential of Mbappé their best weapon at the Camp Nou . Without going any further, this past weekend the Frenchman scored a spectacular transition goal in which he crossed the entire field to 'sprint'. Barça will have to closely monitor the former Monaco, who has already accumulated 18 goals and nine assists in the 26 games he has played this season.

Aware of Mbappé's speed, Koeman hopes to have Sergiño Dest and also Araujo , although in the case of the Uruguayan it is more complicated than he is. Both are much faster than Mingueza, Umtiti and Lenglet, and this Wednesday's match at Pizjuán shows that without Dest or Araujo, Barça can suffer what is not written with Mbappé.

Regarding Icardi and Kean, the former Barça player is a great first-touch finisher and he showed it in the recent duel against Olympique de Marseille. With a more static profile, Icardi has a very good body to stop his face. In that sense, taking into account the type of centrals that Barça has available, Icardi does not pose so much a threat in possible counterattacks but in all kinds of shipments to the area , actions that are hurting Barça in recent weeks. The Argentine has six goals and four assists so far this season.

For his part, Moise Kean has lost some prominence with the arrival of Pochettino, although precisely this Wednesday he gave PSG the victory against Caen in the French Cup. The Italian is more scoring nose and power than quality in the definition. So far this year he has already scored 14 goals, averaging a goal every 111 minutes , which confirms him as a great shock.