An insight into the hopes of the coaching staff at La Liga giants Barcelona of limiting the influence of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé across the upcoming tie between the clubs has this weekend been provided.
The info comes courtesy of Diario Sport, and points towards the bulk of the task as being set to fall on two members of Xavi’s squad.
The players in question? Jules Koundé, and Ronald Araújo.
With Mbappé, of course, expected to take to the pitch on Wednesday in his customary berth on the left flank, the first line of defence to halt the Frenchman will come in the form of fellow countryman Koundé.
The ex-Sevilla man is in the midst of by some way his best run of form of the season, with all associated with Barcelona no doubt hopeful that as much will carry through into the Parc des Princes.
In the case of Koundé losing track of Mbappé over the course of the clash, though, the 25-year-old will then be faced by Ronald Araújo.
Uruguayan international Araújo will take his place on the right side of the Blaugrana’s central-defensive pairing on Wednesday, with his reading of Mbappé’s movements, particularly upon the wide-man cutting inside, set to be of the utmost importance.
Sport point towards the pairing of Koundé and Araújo as having previously been tasked with keeping tabs on the likes of Vinícius Jr, Serge Gnabry, and Leroy Sané, but the challenge in containing PSG’s chief threat ‘will be huge’.
Conor Laird | GSFN
