PSG vs Manchester City: Two sides seeking maiden UCL title, but only one will get to the final

Topics: TV Schedules, PSG, Manchester City, UEFA Champions League

Both PSG and Manchester City have spent plenty of cash in a bid to get their hands on the coveted UCL title. However, only one will make it to this season's final.

Preview: PSG vs Manchester City

Having made it to the final last season, and cruelly denied a spot on the winner's podium in an ironic twist of fate by a former player, Kinglsey Coman, PSG are now hoping to become only the sixth team in Champions League history to finish as runners-up and to return to the final in the following campaign. They've already gotten their revenge on Bayern Munich for their loss from last year, dumping the Bavarian titans out of this term's competition after beating them 4-2 on aggregate, and now will be pitted against an equally determined Manchester City side who are also chasing their first ever Champions League title.

Les Parisiens come into this game having eased to a relatively comfortable 3-1 win over Metz to keep them firmly in solid position to defend their Ligue 1 title, albeit Lille isn't going away without a fight. Prior to that, Mauricio Pochettino's men crushed Angers in the Coupe de France quarter-finals to set up a semi-finals meeting with Montpellier; as defending champions, PSG are expected to take care of business there to meet up with Monaco in what should be a highly entertaining final later in May.

But for now, their focus will be ensuring they can manage to get the better of what will surely be their toughest opponents to date. Pep Guardiola's troops come into this tie having seen off Tottenham in the EFL Cup final and now will hope that momentum will help them as they look to book their spot in the UCL finals for the first time in club history.

City's hopes of a quadruple were dashed as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea during the FA Cup semi-finals a bit under two weeks ago, but the Citizens certainly aren't going to let that distract them too much. Interestingly, they could end up playing the Blues in what would be a very interesting all-English final if Thomas Tuchel's men can dispatch Real Madrid in the other semi-final, so there is the possibility of Guardiola's side getting revenge on the London giants in another match-up later this season.

In any case, both teams had to dump German sides out to get to this stage, with PSG dispatching Bayern and City defeating Dortmund. If either team can go all the way to win the big prize, they'd become the first new team to lift the coveted trophy since Chelsea did so in 2012 - but first, they will have to go through each other. Will it be PSG or City to book their ticket to the finals after what will surely be a very entertaining two-legged semi-final affair?

Team news: PSG vs Manchester City

PSG: Major worries for PSG as Kylian Mbappe was forced to leave the pitch during PSG's clash with Metz, but reports indicate that his injury isn't so serious and he's expected to recover in time for Wednesday's crunch clash. In addition, first-choice shot-stopper Keylor Navas should return for this match, which is a major boost for Pochettino as he will need all his key men available for the arrival of Manchester City to the Parc des Princes. Marquinhos and Abdou Diallo are also facing battles against time to be declared for for this match, while Juan Bernat remains Pochettino's only long-term absentee.

Manchester City: Guardiola, meanwhile, will have a full-strength squad to work with, as even Sergio Aguero has seemingly fully recovered after a long-term injury lay-off. That being said, given how well the team has done without the club's all-time record goal-scorer, he's not going to be involved from the start here as he needs time to regain full match fitness and to be properly reintegrated in with the squad.

Match facts: PSG vs Manchester City

Manchester City are in the UCL finals for only the second time in club history. The last time they reached the semi's was in 2016
PSG, meanwhile are hoping to become the sixth team to finish as runners-up and return to the final in the following campaign
Both teams have never won the final and are hoping to win what would be their first ever UCL titles
City are unbeaten so far in the UCL; their record is W9 D1
If PSG or City win it, they'd be the first new team to win the UCL since Chelsea did so back in 2012
Both teams dumped German sides out of the competition to get to this stage, with PSG getting revenge on Bayern and City successfully seeing off Dortmund
PSG have won 18 of their last 28 UCL games (D4 L6)
However, Les Parisiens have lost three of their last 11 home games against English teams (W4 D4), including their last two
Their record in two-legged knockout ties vs English teams is W3 L4
City have won 11 of their last 16 away European matches (D3 L2)
Man City's record vs French sides is W4 D3 L3