Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are gearing up for a highly-anticipated clash with Liga BBVA heavyweights Barcelona, when the two lock horns in the Champions League this Tuesday.
Taking place at the Parc des Princes, Laurent Blanc side will be looking to get one on the Catalan giants after Barcelona eliminated the French club from the 2012-13 season in the quarter-finals, crashing out on a 3-3 aggregate scorline.
However, Les Parisiens hopes of securing a victory against Luis Enrique's high-flying team took a huge blow when Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was ruled out of the encounter due to a heel injury.
In the 32-year-old's absence, Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani to step up and bag the goals against Barcelona. Here, we take a look at five key stats of the former Napoli attacker that could weigh in on the full-time result and the fans expectations, ahead of the thrilling fixture.
NO IBRA. Time for Cavani to step up
Tomorrow night would be a very nice moment for Edinson Cavani to choose to finally step up to the plate & deliver in Zlatan's absence.
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) September 29, 2014
1-) He's not that far behind Ibra
- Image via Whoscored
Given Paris Saint-Germain already boast a world-class striker in the form of the Swedish ace, Cavani's stats will expectedly be compared to that of the former AC Milan star. In the goalscoring criteria, Cavani is only one shy of Zlatan's current standing, scoring three times in Ligue 1, and once in the Champions League, compared to Ibrahimovic's five.
2-) Not so prolific on the European stage
- Image via Squawka
Cavani's goalscoring record for his French outfit in last season's Champions League was nothing to brag about. The 27-year-old only netted four times, as opposed to Ibrahimovic's 10 goals.
Cavani vs Zlatan: The Uruguayan couldn't match the Swede's goalscoring tally in last season's UCL (image via Squawka)
3-) Shot accuracy – a worrisome percentage
- Image via Squawka
Given the Blaugrana's stern defense this season, one that is yet to concede a goal in all competitions, Cavani must bring his goalscoring boots when Messi and Co. roll in.
4-) Is Cavani deteriorating?
- Infographic via Whoscored
Once the hottest striker in Europe during his time at the Stadio San Paolo, stats from the 2013-14 season reveal the Uruguayan is not performing as well as in his Serie A days.
5-) 55m reasons to expect the best from Edinson
Given the player's reported £55m fee, Paris Saint-Germain fans can be forgiven for expecting Cavani to perform well day in, day out, especially since Ibrahimovic only cost the club £15.7m.
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