After a disappointing draw against Club Brugge in the opening round of their group, Paris Saint-Germain face Manchester City at home on Tuesday night.
The Parisian club have not dropped a single point in the opening eight rounds of the French league and they will hope to take that form into their game against the Premier League champions.
The last time these two sides met each other was in last year’s Champions League semi-finals, when City won the game 2-0 and won the round 4-1 on aggregate.
Team News
There’s a big chance that PSG attacker Lionel Messi may not make the PSG lineup against Manchester City. The Argentine suffered a bone bruise, which kept him out of the weekend’s game. He has returned to training, but could make the bench against City.
Poch on Messi fitness: "He is in a very good way, he has evolved very well. I think he will be in the squad tomorrow, but I still have not decided the starting XI."
— Paul Hirst (@hirstclass) September 27, 2021
Angel di Maria is suspended for the game, while defender Sergio Ramos and midfielder Marco Verratti will miss the game through injury.
Defenders Layvin Kurzawa and Juan Bernat are back in training and could make the bench. Idrissa Gueye is available for manager Mauricio Pochettino after serving his Champions League suspension.
Let’s take a look at the possible Paris Saint-Germain lineup for the game against Manchester City:
Predicted PSG Lineup vs Manchester City (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Keylor Navas has started the last two games as well as the first Champions League fixture and should get the nod ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma to make the PSG lineup.
Defence
Presnel Kimpembe and Marquinhos should start at the back as the two central defenders, with Achraf Hakimi and Abdou Diallo starting at right-back and left-back, respectively. Colin Dagba and Nuno Mendes are options off the bench in the right-back and left-back positions.
Midfield
Pochettino has several options to choose from for the three midfield positions. Idrissa Gueye is a key player in the middle of the park for this PSG side and he will surely start. Ander Herrera has been in sensational goal-scoring form his season for the Parisian side and he should start alongside Gueye.
The likes of Leandro Paredes, Georginio Wijnaldum, Rafinha and Danilo Pereira will compete for the third midfield position. Wijnaldum energy and goal-scoring ability could tilt in his favour and he could get the nod.
Attack
Kylian Mbappe and Neymar should start upfront and on the left, respectively, in the PSG lineup. If Pochettino decides against starting Messi, Julian Draxler or Rafinha could play on the right side of the PSG attack. Pochettino could also move Mbappe to the right and play Mauro Icardi through the middle, but the former hasn’t played on the right this season.
Draxler could start on the right, while Rafinha and Icardi could be used as impact substitutes.
