PSG v Man City

PSG host Man City at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. These sides last met in the 2015/16 season as Man City beat PSG 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. This match will see Pep Guardiola face Mauricio Pochettino. The pair’s history began in their Espanyol and Barcelona days respectively, first as players and then as head coaches. PSG and City have never won the Champions League in any of its guises whilst Guardiola is ten years without success in this competition.

PSG Form

PSG sit second in Ligue 1, one point behind Lille with four matches to play. They reached this stage having beaten Barcelona 4-1 away and Bayern 3-2 away in the first legs of the last two rounds before drawing 1-1 and losing 1-0 respectively in the home legs.

They had been in poor league form with four defeats in 11 matches going into that second leg two weeks ago but have since won three consecutive matches in all competitions. A 3-2 home victory over Saint-Etienne was followed by a 5-0 Coupe de France thrashing of Angers before a 3-1 win at Metz in their match this past weekend.

PSG Team News

PSG have Marco Verratti fit again in central midfield after injury an COVID-19 and he boosts options significantly. Idrissa Gueye was an unused substitute against Metz but will surely return to start this match whilst Angel Di Maria was given just 25 minutes to be fresh to face City.

The big doubt Is over Marquinhos at centre back. He should be fit to play but Danilo Pereira was left out over the weekend just in case he needs to deputise. Pochettino has to decide whether to use four attackers and start either Moise Kean or fit again Mauro Icardi (five goals in three appearances since his return) or go with Verratti higher up and three genuine midfielders.

PSG Motivation

PSG have struggled in the last two home knockout matches (1-1 vs Barcelona and 0-1 loss to Bayern) but they had a first leg lead and did not know how to approach those matches. They are expected to play this match like the away side and sit back before countering at speed. That has worked to good effect against two possession sides (both former clubs of Guardiola and with a similar philosophy) in the last two rounds.

PSG will try to win this match but a draw is not a disaster considering how dangerous they can be on the road and their record of scoring in the Champions League.

Man City Form

City reached this stage after a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win against Borussia Monchengladbach and a less-than-straightforward 4-2 success against Dortmund. Guardiola’s side have been in exceptional form since November winning 34 of their last 40 matches with 24 clean sheets.

After beating Dortmund 2-1 at home with a last minute goal, City had a shock home loss to Leeds despite complete domination of the match. They then won 2-1 away at Dortmund but were losing on aggregate after 54 minutes in that tie. A 1-0 loss at Wembley to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final followed. City’s last two matches saw a 2-1 league win at Aston Villa before beating Tottenham 1-0 at Wembley to lift a four successive League Cup.

Man City Team News

City have no injuries and everyone available after John Stones was suspended for the Carabao Cup final. Aymeric Laporte was excellent in that match and scored the winner so may keep his place alongside Ruben Dias especially for a match in his homeland.

Rodri and Bernardo Silva both look certain starters for their fresh legs (after being substitutes at Wembley) and energy. Ederson will also return to start in goal after Zack Steffen started on Sunday. Guardiola’s biggest call is probably whether to start the out-of-form Raheem Sterling. He is perhaps the man to make way for Bernardo.

Man City Motivation

City would surely be delighted with a score draw from this match and back themselves to win the home leg. They won’t want to go into that second match trailing to PSG and needing to open up and expose themselves to counter attack.

A pretty conservative approach is expected with possession as a mean of defending and 4-5 men being kept behind the ball to protect against transitions and the searing speed of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Key Stats

PSG have lost 3 of their last 6 home CL matches

PSG have lost 4 of their last 13 Ligue 1 matches

PSG have scored in 43 of their last 45 UCL matches

Mbappe has scored 8 goals in 9 UCL matches this season

City have lost just 3 of their last 40 matches (W34, D3)

City have won their last 18 of their 19 away matches

Man City are 9 away CL matches unbeaten (W7, D2)

Prediction

This should be a great match to watch but may not necessarily contain many goals. PSG have enough to score at home even if they play defensively but City are excellent on the road in the Champions League and the Parisians are struggling to approach home matches. A City would good be a good option.