Champions League Team news and prediction: RB Leipzig vs PSG
Both RB Leipzig and Paris Saint Germain have lost to Manchester United in the group stages and neither side can afford to drop points here as the Premier League side gear up to take on Istanbul Basaksehir.
Sat on three points each after the opening two matches, they'll be looking to earn the upper hand in the push for progression to the next round of the Champions League before the pair lock horns in Paris later this month.
In the build up to the meeting in Germany between the two, we have all your need-to-know match information, including team news, probable XIs and where you can catch this contest on television.
When is kick off?
Wednesday 4th November, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Where can I watch it?
ESPN
The Last Meeting
These two clashed back in August with a spot in the Champions League final up for grabs. In the rescheduled knockout stages, both RB Leipzig and PSG sought to secure a chance at European glory and set up a final meeting with either Lyon or Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
PSG took the lead early in the first half through Marquinhos and doubled their advantage shortly before the break courtesy of Angel Di Maria. RB Leipzig pushed to upset the odds, but the game was effectively over as a contest 10 minutes into the second half when Juan Bernat added PSG's third as the French side secured a 3-0 win to book a spot in the Champions League final at RB Leipzig's expense.
Team News
The bulk of RB Leipzig's injury issues come in defence. While Julian Nagelsmann has a number of defenders at his disposal, the young German coach is without Lukas Klostermann and Nordi Mukiele for the welcome of PSG and it's likely the former would have started at the back had he been available. Konrad Laimer is also ruled out for the Bundesliga outfit, but Nagelsmann has no further absentee issues.
PSG's absentee concerns dwarf that of RB Leipzig's with the key duo of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both ruled out of the trip to Germany. Mauro Icardi and Julian Draxler join the duo on the sidelines, while key midfielder Marco Verratti is also injured. Juan Bernat, who scored the third goal in the semi-final meeting, is another who'll miss a reunion with RB Leipzig, but Leandro Paredes at least has a chance of making the matchday squad. In attack, Moise Kean is a man in form having scored four goals in his last three appearances and there will be ample pressure on the Italian here.
Probable XIs
RB Leipzig (3421) - Gulacsi; Konate, Upamecano, Halstenberg; Henrichs, Forsberg, Kampl, Angelino; Olmo, Nkunku; Poulsen
PSG (433) - Navas; Florenzi, Pereira, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Gueye, Marquinhos, Herrera; Sarabia, Kean, Di Maria
Key Battle - Christopher Nkunku vs Angel Di Maria
Was he sold too soon by PSG? Christopher Nkunku departed the French side for RB Leipzig last summer and enjoyed a fine debut campaign in Germany. The 22-year-old put in a sub-par showing in last season's semi-final, yielding a WhoScored rating of 5.68 before his half time withdrawal, but has five goals and 15 league and European assists since the start of 2019/20 and will be looking to put his former employers to the sword.
Conversely, Angel Di Maria put in a man of the match display in PSG's 3-0 win over RB Leipzig, but has made a subdued start to the campaign. The Argentine has just one goal and one assist to his name this season, both of which came in a win over Nice, and there will be heightened expectations on the winger to shoulder the attacking burden in the absence of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 2-1 PSG
