Match Details:
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester City
29th April at 00:30 AM
Venue: Parc Des Princes, Paris.
Match Preview:
The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football competition organized by UEFA and contested by top-tier European clubs, to determine the champion club of Europe via a group and knockout format. It is UEFA’s elite club competition, where 32 top clubs across Europe battle it out for the right to be crowned European Champions. It is time for the semi-finals, and in this first leg matchup, French team Paris Saint-Germain, take on English side Manchester City. In their previous respective competitive fixtures, PSG beat Metz away 1-3 in Ligue 1, whereas City beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the EFL Cup final. PSG have made it to their second Champions League semi-final in two years, beating defending champions Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals on the away goals rule. They had beaten another giant team in Barcelona in the round of 16, and look determined to do one better in the current season and lay their hands on the trophy. After losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, City picked up their first piece of silverware in their last match by beating Spurs 1-0 in the EFL Cup. They already have one hand on the Premier League title as we speak, being ten points clear with five games to go. But facing PSG in the semi-final of the Champions League is where they would be tested to their limits. Getting a result in this two-legged semi-final would definitely be the stuff of champions, and we can bet on Guardiola’s men to produce the goods when they take the field.
Key Stats & Info:
- City are unbeaten in their last 3 games against PSG in all competitions.
- City have won 9 of their last 10 Champions League games, scoring at least 2 goals in 8 of those games.
- PSG have scored at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 6 Champions League games.
Expected XI:
Paris:
Navas, Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Gueye, Paredes, Verratti, Neymar, Mbappé, Di Maria
Manchester City:
Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Rodrigo, Gündogan, Mahrez, Jesus, Foden
Key Players:
Mbappé (Paris): French international striker Kylian Mbappé joined PSG from fellow Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2017, and since joining them, he has been prolific in front of goal for the club, scoring a brilliant 127 goals and providing 60 assists in 166 games across all competitions. He was PSG’s top scorer in the 19-20 season with 30 goals and 19 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions which led them to winning Ligue 1. He is doing even better in the current season, scoring 37 goals and giving 10 assists in 42 games across all competitions, and had yet another goal-rich outing in his last match against Metz, netting two times. In this game, he played for 87 minutes and had 3 accurate shots on goal, 60 touches of the ball, gave 1 key pass, and had a passing accuracy of 85% competing for 33 passes. He is in excellent form and always poses a threat in front of goal due to his electrifying speed and finishing ability.
Neymar (Paris): Brazilian international Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for a world record transfer fee from Spanish side Barcelona. He has provided an excellent return on that investment by scoring 84 goals and providing 50 assists in 109 games across all competitions. He had a good 19-20 season scoring 19 goals and assisting 12 in 27 games across all competitions, and is doing brilliantly in the current season with 14 goals and 9 assists in 24 games across all competitions. In his last game against Metz, he played for 81 minutes and had 4 inaccurate shots on goal, 87 touches of the ball, gave 5 key passes, and had a passing accuracy of 80%, completing 47 passes. He is a game-changer and is expected to influence the next game.
De Bruyne (City): Belgian international midfielder Kevin De Bruyne’s consistent performances have been a key reason for City’s success in all competitions in recent years. He has scored 65 goals and provided a staggering 106 assists in 258 appearances for City across all competitions since joining in 2015 from Wolfsburg. He had a great 19-20 campaign as well scoring 13 goals, providing 20 assists which won him the ‘Premier League Player of the Season’ and ‘PFA Player of the Year awards. He has notched up 8 goals and a brilliant 17 assists in 36 games across all competitions in the current season and had a decent outing in his last match against Spurs, where he gave the assist for the solitary winning goal of the match. In this game, he played for 87 minutes and had 52 touches of the ball, had 2 inaccurate attempts on goal, gave 2 key passes, and had a passing accuracy of 78%, completing 21 passes. He is in good form this season as well and is expected to make a difference in the next match.
Captain & Vice-Captain Picks
- Mbappé (PSG)
- Neymar (PSG)
- Di Maria (PSG)
- De Bruyne (City)
- Gündogan (City)
Team:
Source for Stats:
https://www.transfermarkt.co.in/
https://www.whoscored.com/
https://int.soccerway.com/
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn.