FC Barcelona's impeccable start to 2026/27 continued on Saturday with perhaps the toughest game yet. Real Betis have been outstanding this season and put up a strong fight, but Barça finished the game relentlessly, eventually winning 5-2, making it nine wins out of nine in the domestic championship.

But their dominance has also carried over to the European stage. Emphatic victories against Feyenoord and Galatasaray have set the UCL ball rolling, but now comes the biggest test of the season so far: Paris Saint-Germain. And away from home at the Parc des Princes (9pm CEST Tuesday).

PSG finding form

The French side, under the guidance of former Barça player and boss Luis Enrique, have won the last two editions of the Champions League and are once again among the hot favourites to scoops the continent's biggest prize. They too have opened the competition with back-to-back wins, and also by big margins, 6-1 over Slovan Bratislava and then 4-2 away to none other than Manchester City.

But their league record has not been quite as devastating as Barça's. In an uncharacteristically poor start, they drew their first two games and then crashed to 2-1 defeat at home to Monaco. Since then it's been wins all the way, leaving them as one of five teams that are all neck-and-neck at the top of Ligue 1 with 14 points.

Continental rivalry

This game has become one of the classics of European football in recent years, with a number of dramatic clashes between two sides that always be relied to play attractive football. The one everyone remembers is the famous 6-1 comeback on 2017, but in the three meetings since then it has been the Parisians who came out tops.

In the 2021 round of 16, the damage was done in the first leg, which Barça lost 4-1 at home. And in 2024, despite winning the first leg in Paris, Barça then suffered another 4-1 reverse on home soil to go out in the quarter finals.

And then last year, like this time in the League Phase, an early goal from Ferran Torres gave Barça an early lead, but Senny Mayulu and Gonçalo Ramos eventually earned PSG a third consecutive victory away to Barça.

Torres returns

Ferran Torres will be involved again this year, but battling for the other side following his move to the French capital in the summer. And he's not the only former blaugrana in the visiting ranks. Current Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembélé will be as huge a concern as ever, while Lucas Digne is part of what is usually regarded as the strongest rearguards in Europe. But after keeping just one clean sheet in ten games this term, questions are being asked PSG's vulnerability at the back.

Rather like Barça, PSG aren't too worried about conceding goals as long as they get more at the other end. And with a squad that reads like a who's who of European football, including but not limited to Marquinhos, Vitinha, Désiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marquinhos and João Neves, they are a side that makes scoring goals look easy. It goes without saying that this is a massive test for the Catalans, but it's one Hansi Flick and his players are relishing.

There are scores to settle with Les Rouge-et-Bleu, and this is the perfect time to do so. If winning the first 11 competitive games of the season hasn't been enough to convince anyone of Barça's immense potential this season (although it really should be), a win away to PSG would well and truly send out the message that FC Barcelona mean big business in 2026/27.

Team news

In addition to the already injured Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji, Barça suffered the loss of two players against Betis. Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia are the new absentees.

The squad announced by Hansi Flick includes 18-year-old defender Àlex Campos of Barça Atlétic, in his first ever call-up for first team duty.

The big news at PSG, who rested several key players for their 3-1 win over Strasbourg at the weekend,  is the absence of Nuno Mendes. The Portuguese defender's thigh problem is not a big one, but it's big enough to keep him out of this one. The only other major doubt concerns the scorer at Spotify Camp Nou a year ago, Senny Mayulu.