In late September, Zlatan Ibrahimovic watched Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 Champions League win over Barcelona from a private box in the Parc des Princes.

Fast forward to today and the towering Swedish international will once again be standing alongside his teammates as they prepare for a decisive Group F match against the Catalans at the Camp Nou.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the match, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique surprised no one when he confessed that he was wary of the threat Ibrahimovic posed to his side. The Spanish boss insisted his squad needed to perform better as a defensive unit in order to limit the chances awarded to the hulking Swede.

The task of stopping Ibrahimovic, as well as the rest of PSG’s attacking options, falls on a Barcelona defense which will be playing minus one of their most influential players, Dani Alves. The Brazilian defender has been ruled out of the contest against the French champions after picking up his second yellow card against Ajax on Matchday Five of the European competition.

Enrique played his cards close to his chest when asked who would step in for the suspended Alves. Disregarding the dilemma in his back four, the manager remained confident of Barcelona’s chances of finishing on top of Group F, despite their defensive frailties.

“Our aim is clear – we want to win and PSG want the same,” Enrique said. “They are one of the contenders to win the competition and it’ll be a demanding match, defensively speaking, for us.”

“PSG beat us without [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic. Their squad is strong enough not to depend on any particular player, but with Zlatan in their squad they are even more dangerous.”

In September, Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 victory over Barcelona ended the Spanish club’s unbeaten run and also stopped their record of successive clean sheets. An eleventh minute strike by PSG’s David Luiz ended the Catalan’s run of seven consecutive matches without allowing a goal.

Despite the strong start to the season, their has been an underlying concern that Barcelona’s fragile defense would ultimately derail any chance of the club making a strong run at the European title. The Catalan club tried to address their defensive concerns this summer prior to their FIFA-imposed two window transfer ban, but weren’t able to fully mend their shortcomings in defense.

Enrique didn’t address that topic in his press conference. The manager chose to focus on the immediate threat of the Ligue Un champions’ attacking quality, which has been bolstered by the return of their goal scoring Swedish international.

“Ibrahimovic is a top player,” Enrique added. “If he’s at his best he’s difficult to stop. If we can defend as a block, fewer balls will reach Ibra.”

“He can decide a match at any given moment, which is why he’s a top player. It helps that some of the players here were with him at Barcelona a few years back [alluding to Ibrahimovic’s time at the La Liga club from 2009-11].”

“It’s an advantage but football changes constantly. We will pay special attention to Ibra and also [Edinson] Cavani.”

Although Enrique may be wary of Ibrahimovic and the threat of PSG’s other attacking players, the manager is likely aware the Zlatan has failed to beat Barcelona in five appearances against his former club.

The Swedish striker has scored twice against La Blaugrana, but his team has lost twice and drawn three times against the La Liga giants. Something that will undoubtedly be on his mind as the match kicks-off later tonight at the Camp Nou.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, Barcelona v. Paris Saint-Germain will be shown LIVE on FOX Sports 2 at 2:45pm EST on Wednesday