The French champions won 4-1 at Matmut Atlantique a fortnight ago in the Coupe de la Ligue semifinals but Jocelyn Gourvennec's hosts are a different beast in Ligue 1 and have won three of the last four games in Le Championnat.

They might not be the most difficult of teams put in front of PSG but Unai Emery's men could have been given an easier task ahead of the crucial first leg against Barca than the six-time French champions.

The fact that Les Parisiens currently trail leaders AS Monaco by three points, combined with a potentially hazardous away trip to Bordeaux, means there is no margin for error for the men from the capital.

They are unlikely to take it lightly, which is exactly what is needed ahead of the clash with Luis Enrique's superstars.

Speaking at his prematch news conference at Camp des Loges on Thursday, Emery admitted he could not look past Bordeaux to Barcelona but was grateful this weekend's domestic opponents are more of a challenge than usual.

"These are two tough matches," Emery told journalists. "Thiago [Motta] can play on Friday but not on Tuesday, due to suspension. Same for Goncalo [Guedes], who is cup-tied. They will be different matches because Bordeaux and Barcelona are different teams.

"For the moment, we are focused on Friday's game and are looking at ways of stopping [Francois] Kamano, Malcom, [Gaetan] Laborde, [Diego] Rolan, [Jeremy] Menez, [Younousse] Sankhare.

"After that, we will think about [Lionel] Messi, Neymar, [Gerard] Pique and [Jordi] Alba."

Obviously nothing Bordeaux can throw at PSG will be as potent as the likes of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. However, with Barcelona looking like more of a "normal" team this season, leading into the game in a position where they need to win bodes better than the past few years.

Under Laurent Blanc, the French giants would usually resume their Champions League campaign with a healthy lead at the top of Ligue 1, which would allow them to focus their efforts solely on Europe.

Unable to do that this time around, the lack of let-up in the intensity of the fixture list could actually aid PSG's chances of producing the sort of performance they need against Barcelona next week.

What they must do now, though, is mentally block out the impending visit of the Spanish giants and focus on Bordeaux as if it is the only match they have coming up. They failed to do so against Lille OSC in midweek and almost paid the price, so there are no excuses here.

There is an almost four-day gap before the Barcelona showdown, meaning the players should not be mentally trying to keep themselves as fresh as possible during the game at Matmut Atlantique. They can fully apply themselves in Bordeaux before doing the same against the Catalans.

Midfielder Marco Verratti, goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and right-back Thomas Meunier are all back from injury, boosting Emery's options. Now the Spaniard is only missing playmaker Javier Pastore, who he also might be able to involve against Barca -- even if his current fitness is questionable at best.

Not only will a win over Bordeaux set PSG up nicely for next week's continental exertions, it will also -- temporarily at least -- pull them level with AS Monaco at the Ligue 1 summit.

Instead of bemoaning the busy schedule and its fatiguing impact on the players, Emery and his men should embrace the intensity of the calendar and use it to build up as much momentum as possible to help them past Barca.

It might be what they have missing these past few years when faced with the La Liga giants these past few years.