PSG vs Man City - Champions League team news and prediction
In the second Champions League tie of the week, Parisian powerhouse PSG welcome Premier League leaders Manchester City to the Parc des Princes. PSG are looking to go one step further this time around after falling to a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in last season's final. They have already knocked Barcelona and Bayern out of the competition, so won't be unfazed at the demands that come with playing another of Europe's powerhouse sides.
Pep Guardiola is aiming to lift the Champions League for just the third time in his career having twice won it with Barcelona. Manchester City crave the Champions League and they are just three games from glory, but first need to navigate the French giants in what is without doubt their toughest task in the competition so far.
Ahead of the meeting between these two European giants, we provide all the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch this game, what time it kicks off, team news and probable XIs.
When is kick off?
Wednesday 28th April, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Parc des Princes, Paris (France)
What TV channel is it on?
BT Sport 2
Route to the semi-finals
PSG lost two of their opening three group stage games to Manchester United and RB Leipzig and all hopes of progression seemed lost. However, they recovered to win their final three group stage matches and top Group F. They made light work of Barcelona in the last-16 and held on to book a semi-final spot at Bayern's Munich's expense on away goals in the quarter-finals.
Manchester City enjoyed a far easier route to the semi-finals of the Champions League. They picked up 16 of 18 available points in the group stages, with their only mark on the record book coming in a 0-0 draw with Porto. City eased past German duo Gladbach and Borussia Dortmund, respectively, to set up a meeting with PSG.
Team News
PSG hearts were in throats against Metz over the weekend after Kylian Mbappe was forced off in the 3-1 win, though the Frenchman's injury is not believed to be serious and is unlikely to rule him out of the welcome of Manchester City. There is optimism that Marquinhos will be fit to partner Presnel Kimpembe at the heart of the defence, while Abdou Diallo and Rafinha will also be assessed, with the former battling with Layvin Kurzawa for the starting left-back spot. Juan Bernat is Mauricio Pochettino's only confirmed injury absentee.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has a fully available squad to select from this week. John Stones served the first of a three-match domestic ban in Sunday's 1-0 Carabao Cup final win over Tottenham and he challenges Aymeric Laporte for a spot in the starting XI. Rodri and Ederson are expected to come into the side in place of Fernandinho and Zack Steffen, while Raheem Sterling is set to drop out of the starting XI.
Probable XIs
PSG (433) - Navas; Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Diallo; Gueye, Paredes, Verratti; Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar
Manchester City (433) - Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden
Key Battle: Kylian Mbappe vs Phil Foden
"@KMbappe are you ready" was tweeted from Phil Foden's account in the aftermath of Manchester City's 2-1 win at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month before being hastily deleted. Nevertheless, the damage was done and while the player and his representatives acted swiftly to sack the social media company responsible, the tweet added an extra layer of narrative to PSG's welcome of the Premier League leaders.
Both Mbappe and Foden are two of the brightest young talents in Europe and have excelled for both PSG and City, respectively. At the time of writing, they rank first (8.14) and third (7.82) as the best rated players in the knockout stages of the Champions League this season and despite their tentative years, they look unfazed at the demands that come with playing on the grand stage of Europe's elite club competition.
Score Prediction: PSG 1-2 Manchester City
