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UCL Preview: Bayern Munich-PSG

To say that Paris Saint-Germain have had a difficult time in this season's UEFA Champions League would be an understatement. Despite an undefeated start to the season in Ligue 1 McDonald's, Luis Enrique's team have picked up just four points from their first four matches in Europe, and are currently outside the top 24 ahead of facing Bayern Munich tomorrow night. The Bavarians have struggled themselves, winning just two of their four matches, but could have the edge here.
E. DEVIN
Published on 11/26/2024 at 03:00
2-minute read
João Neves and PSG are looking to get back to winning ways in Europe.

Fixtures to give PSG the edge?

After easing past struggling Augsburg on Friday, the visitors having finished with ten men and Harry Kane scoring a hat trick, Vincent Kompany's side faces a daunting run of fixtures across this encounter, Borussia Dortmund in the league at the weekend and Bayer Leverkusen next mid-week in the German Cup. While rotation and prioritsiing the different competitions will be a challenge for the newly-arrived manager, who was clear about his side's goals, saying, "We want to finish in the top eight. But our main goal first is to win against PSG tomorrow.”

With most of his first-choice players available save midfielder Aleksandr Pavlovic, Kompany will deploy a strong team with Kane -- the competition's top scorer -- leading the line. The Englishman is likely to be supported by a pair of Frenchmen in wingers Kingsley Coman (a former Paris Saint-Germain player) and Michael Olise, but as scintillating as the team's attack has been, having scored eleven goals in the competition, more questions are likely to be asked of their defence, with Kim Min-Jae and Dayot Upamecano needing to soak up the pressure, as Kompany underscored, saying, "They have a lot of individual quality, speed and a very good coach. It’s a squad with incredible talent."

Needing a focal point

As has so often been the case this season, with Randal Kolo Muani out of form and Gonçalo Ramos nursing an injury, uncertainty looms over who Enrique will play to lead the line. Marco Asensio has looked a good option at times, the Spaniard a canny operator and good at linking play, while Lee Kang-In, while a more undersized option, has found the next six times in Ligue 1 McDonald's. 

The importance of the striker can't be understated, but PSG have happily been able to rely on goals from other places this season, with Bradley Barcola bursting to life as the league's top scorer. He's yet to find the net in Europe, though, and will have to recapture his domestic form if the capital side hope to climb the rankings, something Enrique was explicit about pre-match: "Football is all about one thing, and one thing only: scoring goals, and in that respect we have to improve." If that improvement comes to pass, the capital side are likely to climb back into the playoff places, an imperative for them in a competition they remain desperate to  win.

Predicted lineups:

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Laimer, Min-Jae, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane

Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes (or Beraldo); Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembélé, Asensio (or Lee), Barcola

Read more:

>> More Than Messi: Ligue 1 and Barcelona

>> PSG vs Bayern Munich: 5 Memorable Matches

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