Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich travel to the French capital on Tuesday to play the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final clash against the current holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Except for a few stutters in their quest for another Ligue 1 title, PSG remained largely unchallenged by their nearest competitors Lens, as they are now six points clear at the top of the table with just four games to go. Les Parisiens enter the semis following a 3-0 victory over Angers, and dispatching Liverpool with a 4-0 aggregate scoreline in the quarter-final.
Luis Enrique’s men reached this stage after beating Chelsea, Liverpool and Monaco in the knockouts. While they had to feature in the playoffs following an 11th-placed finish in the league phase, PSG never looked out of character when it came to defending their crown.
The hosts are without any major injury issues for this match. The potential doubts for this clash, Vintinha and Achraf Hakimi, participated in Monday’s training session and were cleared of any injuries. Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will start up front in a 4-3-3 formation.
Bayern Munich sealed their 35th German title in style with a 4-2 victory over Stuttgart as head coach Vincent Kompany called for restrained celebrations in hopes of clinching a treble at the end of the season.
The Bavarians knocked out the 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid after a strenuous two-legged fight, which could have ended up either way. Kompany’s men reserved their berth in the DFB-Pokal final following a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, and made a stellar 4-3 comeback to seal the three points in their last match against Mainz.
Bayern defeated Paris Saint-Germain by a narrow 2-1 margin in November’s league-phase clash, but past results hold little significance in matches of such stature.
The Germans will be missing Lennart Karl for the match as he is yet to fully recover from a fibrous tear in his right thigh. Serge Gnabry, Tom Bischof and Sven Ulreich are out with their respective knocks.
Predicted PSG vs Bayern Munich line-ups
Paris Saint-Germain: Safónov – Hakimi , Marquinhos , Pacho , Nuno Mendes – João Neves , Vitinha , Fabian – D. Doué , Dembelé , Kvaratskhelia.
Bayern Munich: Neuer – Stanišić , Upamecano , Tah , Laimer – Kimmich , Pavlović – Olise , Musiala , Luis Díaz – Kane.
GGFN | Trambak Bhattacherjee
