Neymar to miss Barcelona match - how much will PSG miss him?

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed that Neymar will miss the next four weeks due to injury, depriving them of the Brazil star for the first leg of their Champions League meeting with Barcelona.

Neymar pulled up shortly after a collision with Caen defender Steve Yago in a midweek Coupe de France match against the Ligue 2 side on 10th February.

The following day, the verdict fell, and it was not good news for PSG, who will be forced to do without one of their aces for around four weeks.

What are PSG’s results without Neymar?

At the time of his injury, Neymar had missed 15 PSG matches this season in which he had not played a single minute.

PSG’s results in those games came to 10 wins, three draws and two defeats. That means they have picked up 2.2 points per game. When Neymar has played, PSG have won 2.06 points per game (W12 D1 L5).

In terms of goals, when he has played, PSG have scored 2.22 per game compared to 2 per game when he has not.

Of course, that is all competitions, but what about the Champions League – a competition in which Neymar has had a nasty habit of missing important matches since moving to PSG?

In total, he has played 25 European Cup matches for the Ligue 1 side.

Here, there is a slight shift. When Neymar is playing, PSG win 64% of their matches. When he is not, they win only 62.5%.

Arguably more important is the number of games they lose. With Neymar, they lost 24% of their fixtures, without him, that leaps to 40%.

It should be noted, however, the sample size is small with regards games he does not play. The quality of opponent is also distorted because 60% of those games he has missed have come in the knockout phase.

What PSG matches will Neymar miss

If Neymar misses four weeks of action exactly, it means he will be absent for six matches.

Of course, the biggest one of these is the away leg of the Champions League last 16 against Barcelona. It is touch and go if he will be ready for the second leg, although it seems the best he could hope for is a spot on the bench against his former side.

However, there are also some key Ligue 1 dates for PSG during that spell. Remember, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are third in the league and can scantly afford to drop points.

First up is a match against improving Nice on Saturday. Then comes a home game with a Monaco side that has won all seven of the fixtures it has played this year.

A trip to Dijon should pose few problems on 27th February, but the journey to Bordeaux four days later promises to be more complicated.

Additionally, there is a Coupe de France match to be played on the weekend of 6th March, though the identity of that opponent will not be known until the draw is made on 21st February.

*doubtful

Will Neymar be injured on his sister’s birthday?

Neymar is notorious for being injured on 11th March – the date of his sister’s birthday, but also the day PSG will face Barcelona in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

With PSG announcing he will be out for four weeks, it will be touch and go if he's ready for the return match.

One positive omen for PSG is that he was fit to play Borussia Dortmund in a similarly vital match on the same date last year. The Ligue 1 side went into that game training 2-1 on aggregate but Neymar played a major role in turning the game around.

In each of the previous two years, however, he was absent because of metatarsal injuries.

With Barcelona, meanwhile, in 2017 he missed a fixture on 12th March against Deportivo La Coruna with muscle pain. A year earlier, he had been suspended against Eibar the weekend before his sister’s special day after picking up a booking in the 87th minute of their previous match – a 5-1 rout against Rayo Vallecano.

In 2015, meanwhile, yellow cards in successive games again meant he was banned for the match preceding his sister’s birthday, while in 2014 he only made the bench against Osasuna.

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Neymar Jr

N/A

PSG

88

Barcelona

91

Ligue 1 UEFA Champions League Primera Division