Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester City
The last two losing Champions League finalists collide as Paris Saint-Germain host Manchester City in the marquee matchup of Matchday 2.
PSG, who lost in the final to Bayern Munich two seasons ago, brought in the great Lionel Messi this summer to help them get over the hump this year. However, Messi is a doubt to play in the big game against former boss Pep Guardiola due to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Guardiola’s City – who beat PSG twice en route to last year’s final – will be full of confidence after their impressive win over Chelsea in their Champions League final rematch this past weekend.
Read on below for a comprehensive preview of this titanic Champions League showdown in Paris.
Talking Points
PSG still picking up results despite missing Messi
Paris Saint-Germain remain perfect in Ligue 1. They extended their impressive winning streak to eight matches in a row after beating Metz and Montpellier last week.
As expected, the Parisians have coped fairly well despite missing superstar Lionel Messi for the last couple of games due to a knee injury. Achraf Hakimi bagged a brace, including the stoppage-time winner, against Metz, while Idrissa Gueye and Julian Draxler got the goals in a 2-0 win over Montpellier.
Moreover, Neymar – who has had a slow start to the season – is finally getting back to his best. The Brazilian has a goal and two assists in his last three games to make up for Messi’s absence.
The vaunted front three of Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe has yet to hit full gear given their limited playing time together. The three started together for the first time in their Champions League opener against Club Brugge, who defied the Champions League 2021 betting odds by holding PSG to a 1-1 draw.
With Messi doubtful to play and Angel Di Maria still suspended, Mauricio Pochettino could opt to play with just Mbappe and Neymar up front in a 4-4-2 to provide added defensive solidity against Man City.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma will get a chance to play in goal. The Euro 2020 hero, who has appeared in just two games thus far, is reportedly growing unhappy in Paris as Keylor Navas continues to be Pochettino’s first-choice keeper.
Man City continue to roll
Manchester City made the perfect start to their very difficult stretch of games – away to Chelsea, PSG, and Liverpool – by beating the Blues 1-0 in their Champions League final rematch. The win saw City climb up to second in the table, a point behind leaders Liverpool.
City were clearly the dominant side at Stamford Bridge. They had a 15-5 advantage in terms of total shots and had nearly 60 per cent of possession, while their excellent defence shut down Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea’s attack.
Pep Guardiola continues to chop and change his forward line. Phil Foden got the start ahead of Ferran Torres as the central striker against Chelsea, while Gabriel Jesus – who scored the winning goal – started over Riyad Mahrez on the right.
And in midfield, Kevin De Bruyne made his first start of the season with Ilkay Gundogan missing out due to a slight knock.
Pep is likely to make more rotations to his side for their big midweek match in Paris. But such is City’s cohesion and strength in depth that they will remain formidable with whomever Pep picks to play.
City got their Champions League campaign off to a wonderful start with a 6-3 win over RB Leipzig. Five different City players scored, with Jack Grealish making Champions League 2021 highlights by getting a goal and an assist on his competition debut.
History
Man City and PSG have met five times overall in Europe, four of which have come in the Champions League knockout rounds.
Man City have won three of those five matches, including both legs of their semi-final tie last season. After scoring the winning goal in their 2-1 win in Paris, Riyad Mahrez bagged a brace in City’s 2-0 win at home.
Meanwhile, this could be the first meeting between former Barcelona mates Messi and Guardiola since the 2016 Champions League group stage.
Messi scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 Barcelona win over City at the Camp Nou. Messi scored again in the reverse fixture, but Guardiola got his revenge by beating Barca 3-1 at the Etihad.
Betting Tip
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Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester City | Manchester City Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 1.76 |
| September 29, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
SBOTOP odds have Man City installed as slight 2.37 favourites despite being away from home, with PSG not far behind at 2.96. A draw is also similarly priced at 3.25.
Based on their early season form, City seem to have a clear advantage over PSG. Pep has his side playing at a high level with a coherent system, while Pochettino is still trying to establish one of his own.
Obviously, there is so much talent at PSG that it will be foolish to completely write them off. But City inspire much more confidence at the moment, which is why they are likely to get another positive result in Paris.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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