UCL history and PSG victory give Man Utd confidence in Barcelona clash

You only have to go back to mid-December of 2018 and Manchester United was a very different place indeed. Clouds had formed over a club locked in the chokehold of a breakdown of relations between Jose Mourinho, his players and the staff behind the scenes at the club.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's arrival has changed all that, with the lambasted Paul Pogba proving to be a figurehead for a United charge back into worldwide relevance, although this may well be stunted somewhat by Real Madrid's rumoured interest in the Frenchman.

With that being said, the club head into their Champions League clash with Barcelona full of belief that they can once again reach the last four of a competition they have won on three previous occasions, and it is this illustrious history, combined with their recent Parc des Prince miracle which gives the club hope they can stun Barcelona.

Los Cules are certainly the better team on paper in almost every position, and the presence of Lionel Messi means that the game could be taken away from United at any given moment, just ask Arsene Wenger.

However, the belief around Old Trafford at this moment in time is palpable, and in sharp contrast to a few months ago when tournament favourites, Juventus, arrived in Manchester. On this occasion, there are few home supporters travelling to the stadium on Wednesday believing that victory is impossible.

History shows that the English giants often perform at their best in the Champions League when the odds are against them. The club will look back to their victory over Barcelona in the 2008 semi-final, when a failure to score an away goal in the Camp Nou left the Reds looking down the barrel of a potentially impossible final berth.

Yet, Paul Scholes' wonder strike and a phenomenal defensive resolve halted the charge of Frank Rijkaard's team as United moved on to Moscow where they would win Champions League number three.

The 1999 final against Bayern Munich was another such instance. Without the suspended Roy Keane and Scholes, arguably the team's two best players, Sir Alex Ferguson's charges somehow managed to limit a supremely confident Bavarian side to just one goal, before two injury time goals completed a famous treble.

So often on that European run, Manchester United were forced to battle adversity, especially in the semi-final against Juventus when they found themselves 3-1 down on aggregate inside the first half of the second leg.

What's ironic is that when United are the favourites in a Champions League encounter, they tend to struggle. The prime example of this came in the 2009 final against Barcelona in the Stadio Olimpico, when United arguably had the better squad, started the match in a more positive manner but then collapsed to a 2-0 victory.

Victory at the Parc des Princes was merely the latest chapter of United's rich history with the premier club competition on the continent.

It blended the principles of giving youth players a chance, whilst also being blisteringly effective on the counter-attack, even if PSG did hand the visitors two of their three goals through individual errors.

Though the fact remains, Manchester United would never have taken advantage of those mistakes at the beginning of the season. They are now a team that, for all their faults, are supremely focused and alert to matters on the pitch.

Barcelona have their own demons to battle on Wednesday, having failed to progress past this stage of the tournament since winning it in 2015, despite having a player many consider to be the very best to ever play the game.

Manchester United must prey on any potential psychological weakness in their opponent, especially if the Spanish champions take a lead and memories of Rome last season come back to the forefront of their minds.

Old Trafford has a huge part to play in the outcome of the quarter-final tie, especially with the Spanish side having actually been drawn as the home team in the tie.

Advice from the Greater Manchester Police about having both Manchester clubs play at home on the same week has taken away from United the advantage of being away from home first.

Although, Manchester United like to upset the odds, it's what they've done ever since Solskjaer arrived back at the club. They will seek to use a perceived disadvantage to their benefit on Wednesday with the home crowd creating a unique Champions League atmosphere, just as they did against the Catalan giants in 2008.

Defensively you have real concerns about Solskjaer's team going up against Luis Suarez and Messi, and these fears could be even further compounded if Ousmane Dembele is given medical clearance before Ernesto Valverde files his teamsheet.

The way United capitulated and gave goals away against Wolverhampton Wanderers can't be repeated. This could facilitate a slight change in style back to the system used at the Parc des Princes, but that will only increase the belief within the team.

Old Trafford has seen some quite extraordinary European nights, a number of which have actually involved the Catalan club, and with both distant and immediate history giving the team and their supporters cause for belief on Wednesday, Manchester United are ready to upset the odds yet again, and you wouldn't bet against them.