Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi says the world's "best left-back" Nuno Mendes can stop Lamine Yamal on Wednesday when his side take on Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium in the Champions League.
With PSG missing Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia though injury and Barcelona without Raphinha, there will be added emphasis on Yamal to deliver against the European champions.
Yamal, 18, did well against Mendes when the two sides met in the quarterfinal of the same competition in 2024, but he struggled to have an impact when Spain lost to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final this summer.
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"Lamine is not on my side, but he will be up against the best left-back in the world in Nuno Mendes," Hakimi said in the pre-game news conference.
"He is capable of stopping him, as he has done already, and as he has stopped other attackers with the same style as Lamine in the past. He is well prepared.
"But the strength of our team is the help we provide to each other, so we will try and help Nuno and not leave him one-v-one because we know the capacity Lamine has in those situations."
Yamal, 16 at the time, impressed when Barça won 3-2 in Paris two seasons ago and set up the first goal in the return leg before being substituted after Ronald Araújo was sent off.
The French champions went on to win 4-1, progressing to the semifinal, and Barça midfielder Pedri said earlier on Tuesday the Catalan side are out to avenge that defeat.
PSG coach Luis Enrique turned down the chance to respond to Pedri, who he managed when he was in charge of Spain, instead labelling the midfielder Harry Potter and joking that he hopes he doesn't bring his magic wand with him on Wednesday.
"I know Pedri very well," he said. "He's an incredible player and I am happy to see him playing so well. I think he knows me very well, too, from the national team.
"For me, he's Harry Potter. I just hope he doesn't bring his wand. We will try to keep him on the fringes as much as possible, but it's not just him, it's [Frenkie] De Jong, [Pau] Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal...
"It's a motivation for us to overcome a team that's very good with the ball and without it. That's seen in the results they had last season and they're doing really well this year."
As well as their attacking trio, PSG are also without Marquinhos, while Luis Enrique will make a late call on Vitinha and João Neves, who both trained with the team at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.
Returning to Barcelona, where he spent eight years as a player and six as coach of the reserve team and later the first team, is always special for Luis Enrique, but it will be extra so this week as the team raise money for the Xana Foundation.
PSG shirts will carry the logo of the Foundation, which is named after Luis Enrique's late daughter and raises money for ill children, and will be auctioned off after the game.
"I want to thank the PSG president for this incredible gesture, donating the money from the players' shirts to the Xana Foundation," Luis Enrique said.
"It's a special gesture, especially so here in Barcelona. We need that visibility to help families and children. We will not forget it.
"It's always special and nice to be in Barcelona regardless. It's my home, where I spent a large part of my career. It's not Camp Nou, but it's a stadium where I have great memories, such as the inauguration of the Olympic Games in 1992, which I was at.
"I can't say a single bad thing about Barcelona. I am eternally grateful. But I am a professional tomorrow."