Barcelona v PSG preview

Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappé will be under the spotlight when they face Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Tuesday without Neymar and Angel Di Maria but coach Mauricio Pochettino feels he will live up to expectations.

Mbappé but no Neymar or Di Maria

Although Mbappé is the Ligue 1 top scorer with 16 goals this season, he has largely failed to ignite in the Champions League with just two goals and he has not scored in the knockout stage since a 2-0 win at Manchester United in the last 16 in 2019.

But Pochettino, who is expected to field Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia or Moise Kean alongside the 22-year-old Mbappe, said he was pleased with the France striker's form.

"Clearly we're missing important players but we have a team and players who are responsible," Pochettino, who took over from the sacked Thomas Tuchel at the beginning of the year, told a news conference on Monday.

"As for Mbappé, I expect from him what I always expect from great players. I'm very happy with his performances since I arrived."

Neymar suffered a thigh problem in last week's French Cup win at Caen while Di Maria has a similar injury which he picked up in the Ligue 1 victory away to Olympique Marseille on Feb 7.