OMNISPORT 

Marquinhos has urged his Paris Saint-Germain team-mates not to give up hope of overturning a two-goal deficit against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

Laurent Blanc's side were put to the sword by a clinical Barca side in the first leg of their quarter-final last week - Luis Suarez scoring two of his side's three away goals.

Jeremy Mathieu's late own-goal offers PSG a glimmer of hope but the French champions look set to suffer a third consecutive last-eight exit, as they trail 3-1.

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While Barca have lost just one of their last 31 Champions League matches at Camp Nou, Blanc will be boosted by the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti from suspensions.

Thiago Silva, Thiago Motta (both thigh) and David Luiz (hamstring) are doubtful but Marquinhos believes Saturday's 3-1 win over Nice stands PSG in good stead.

"This victory in Nice was the best possible preparation for Tuesday. It was a very average first half, but we were much better in the second half," he told reporters.

"This success is good, especially when it comes to regaining confidence after Wednesday's defeat against Barcelona.

"The return leg in the Camp Nou will be very intense and very difficult, but we will go there with the aim of qualifying, with our first intention being to defend well.

"I hope [Silva can play]. He said the injury to his left thigh was not too serious. Like David Luiz it is primarily due to the repetition of matches, which has been very heavy late in the season."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

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Barca remain in the hunt for the treble and head into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Valencia on Saturday, which kept them two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Lionel Messi scored his 400th competitive goal for the Catalan giants and Suarez was on target for the fifth time in his last four matches.

Andres Iniesta could return from a back injury when Luis Enrique's side attempt to finish off the job and reach the last four.

The Barca coach has made a great impact in his first season at the helm and the former Spain international hailed his players after their latest win.

"They were running low on fuel even before the game kicked off. Overall, it's been a great weekend," he explained.

"These players are winners. From the first day I saw that they want to win titles and work hard to do it.

"Now we have to make sure we recover well and see what we can do on Tuesday.

"I only talk about short-term results, that's all that interests us. There's not long to go before we can judge how the team’s season has been."

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