The two money-laden giants are on course to meet only for the sixth time in history at the Parc des Princes in Paris in the second round of group matches.
Manchester City will be the more confident side entering the clash, having beaten RB Leipzig by a whopping 6-3 scoreline on matchday one, in stark contrast to Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-1 draw against Club Brugge in Belgium.
PREVIEW
The French giants, filled with arguably the most brilliant roster in world football, will welcome Pep Guardiola’s side who are unbeaten in seven matches. The Manchester outfit enter the clash having edged out Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
This will be Guardiola’s second out of three challenges in a brutally testing week as they take on Liverpool the upcoming weekend. His team will be looking to repeat their last season’s semi-finals performances, where they won both legs and entered the final at the expense of the Parisians.
Manchester City are also unbeaten in their last 10 away games in the competition (W8, D2, L0), having lost their last away game against Shakhtar Donetsk in December 2017, a 2-1 defeat.
Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to get PSG’s first victory ever against City (W0, D2, L3) and also potentially keep a clean sheet, which they have failed to do in their last four meetings in the Champions League.
PSG are now winless in their last four games in the tournament (W0, D1, L3) – which includes two losses against Manchester City in last year’s semi-finals.
PREVIOUS RESULTS
PSG – L, W, D, W, W
Man City – W, W, W, W, L
EXPECTED LINEUPS & TEAM NEWS
PSG
The team is expected to start with the same line-up that took to the field against Club Brugge on the opening group matchday, with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe all expected to start. However Messi’s presence is also somewhat doubtful due to a bone bruising. If he doesn’t start, Julian Draxler will take his place rather than the suspended Angel Di Maria.
Gianluigi Donnarumma may well replace the impressive Keylor Navas in goal.
4-3-3 – Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Diallo; Gueye, Paredes, Herrera; Messi/Draxler, Mbappe, Neymar
Man City
With Aymeric Laporte playing full 90 minutes vs Chelsea on the weekend, John Stones could be expected to start alongside Ruben Dias in defence. With Rodri’s fitness problems, Fernandinho can pair with Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in midfield, feeding Ferran Torres upfront.
Zinchenko and Ilkay Gundogan are both expected to sit out due to injuries.
4-3-3 – Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo; B. Silva, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Torres, Grealish
PREDICTION: PSG 2-2 Man City
With Messi, Mbappe and Neymar leading the line, it’s hard to see them misfiring once more, as they did against Club Brugge. Pep Guardiola might just edge out Pochettino tactically but this is the home side’s chance to display their firepower on big nights.