For football fans in India, this Wednesday night is probably going to deliver two of the biggest fixtures in European football this week – Atletico Madrid host Barcelona in the UCL quarterfinal second leg and Liverpool take on Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield. Both matches kick off at 12:30 AM IST, and both carry enormous stakes. For Indian football fans, this is a night worth staying up for. Here's everything you need to know about these two matches.

Barcelona Need A Miracle At The Metropolitano

Barcelona travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano today needing to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit, a task made harder by the fact that Atletico are at home and have been the better side across their recent meetings. The two clubs have faced each other five times in less than two months. Barcelona beat Atletico 2-1 in La Liga on April 4, but in the Champions League first leg, Atletico won 2-0 at Camp Nou. Before that, in the Copa del Rey semifinals, Atletico won 4-0 at home before going out on a 3-0 loss in the second leg at Barcelona, advancing on aggregate. The pattern across these fixtures is clear: Atletico are a different team at the Metropolitano.

 

In UCL head-to-head history, Atletico lead Barcelona 3-1 across 5 meetings, with 1 draw. Atletico last reached the UCL semifinals in 2017. Barcelona went out at that stage last season, losing to Inter Milan. On the other hand, if Barcelona are to go through, they need to score at least 3 without conceding, which is going to be a pretty massive ask against a side as defensively structured as Diego Simeone's.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona : Probable Lineups

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2) : Juan Musso (or Jan Oblak); Nahuel Molina, Robin Le Normand, Clément Lenglet, Matteo Ruggeri; Marcos Llorente, Koke, Johnny Cardoso, Ademola Lookman; Antoine Griezmann, Julián Álvarez.

 

Barcelona (4-2-3-1) : Joan García; Jules Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Gerard Martín, João Cancelo; Eric García, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Marcus Rashford; Robert Lewandowski.

Salah's Last Shot At European Glory

Liverpool host PSG at Anfield on Wednesday in what is Mohamed Salah's final Champions League campaign at the club. PSG won the first leg 2-0 at the Parc des Princes, which means Liverpool need to score at least 3 at Anfield without conceding to go through in normal time. Anfield under the lights in a UCL knockout tie is one of football's most intimidating environments, but PSG are the defending European champions and arrive with a 2-goal advantage and the confidence that brings. Salah won the Champions League in his first season at Liverpool back in 2018. The possibility of his final chapter at the club ending with another European title is the emotional thread running through this tie for Liverpool supporters. And yes, Liverpool's Premier League title defence is effectively over and they are already out of the FA Cup, this competition is all that remains of their season.

 

In head-to-head UCL history, PSG lead Liverpool 4-3 across 7 meetings. Liverpool's last meeting with PSG before this season's quarterfinal was the first leg, which the French side won 2-0 at home.

Liverpool vs PSG : Probable Lineups

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) : Giorgi Mamardashvili; Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz; Hugo Ekitiké.

 

Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) : Matvey Safonov; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes; João Neves, Vitinha, Warren Zaïre-Emery; Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

 

Apart from that, in the UK both matches are available on TNT Sports on TV and via the Max app on streaming. In the USA, both can be watched on Paramount+.

How You Can Watch The Both Matches In India

Both of the matches- Atletico vs Barcelona and Liverpool vs PSG will start at 12:30 AM IST and are available live on the Sony Sports Network on TV. Live streaming is on the SonyLIV app and website, subscription required.