PSG vs Manchester City: Reunion between heavyweights on the cards

PSG vs Manchester City: Reunion between heavyweights on the cards - Sept 28

September 27, 2021 By Michelle Bonsu

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

Five months to the day after locking horns in the 2020/2021 UCL semi-finals, PSG and Manchester City will renew acquaintances on matchday two of the 2021/22 UCL group stages.

Preview: PSG vs Manchester City

Talk about an interesting coincidence. Exactly five months to the day that they first locked horns in the Champions League semi-finals, PSG and Manchester City will meet once again in European club football's premier competition. Last season saw Pep Guardiola twice get the better of Mauricio Pochettino as City booked their first final appearance in their club's history. And although they ultimately lost 1-0 to Chelsea in an all-English affair, it certainly hasn't stopped the Cityzens of dreaming of making - and this time winning - the final this time around.

The same can certainly be said about Les Parisiens, who featured in the 2020 final but in an ironic twist of fate, were beaten thanks to former player Kingsley Coman's solitary goal for Bayern Munich. Like their upcoming opponents, PSG have spent quite a bit of money over the past decade trying to build a squad fully prepared to compete with the biggest clubs on the continent.

Both teams come into this match having enjoyed success in their respective weekend domestic fixtures. PSG earned a pretty straightforward 2-0 victory over Montpellier to maintain their perfect record so far in Ligue 1 and keep them on top of the table. Meanwhile, Manchester City got revenge on Chelsea for their losses in the league, the FA Cup, and more significant, the Champions League by defeating the Blues 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

However, in the Champions League, it's been a different story for these two very ambitious sides. PSG shockingly were unable to beat Club Brugge in a game many had expected to see lots of goals, but despite deploying their new attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, they were unable to gel and have any sort of impact on the game. Not only did none of them get on the score-sheet, but also Brugge managed to equalize and dug in to hang on for a point. That certainly will feel like a victory for the Belgian side, especially considering how they were humiliated in their last encounter with PSG.

But for Les Parisiens, it will definitely feel like two points dropped, and with City now set to arrive at the Parc des Princes for Tuesday's mouth-watering clash, the onus will be on them to get back on track. It will naturally be much easier said than done, as PSG come into this game winless in their last three European ties at home, and given that this group also contains RB Leipzig, each and every single point will be that much more valuable as there are realistically, three teams vying for a spot in the round of 16.

Manchester City, on the other hand, came out on top in a nine goal thriller, beating Leipzig 6-3 and come into this contest with wins in six of their last seven games across all comps. In addition, they're unbeaten in their last 10 away Champions League games so certainly will be fancying their chances at winning at the Parc des Princes once again, precisely five months to the day that Riyad Mahrez and Kevin de Bruyne earned Guardiola's men a 2-1 win in the 2020/2021 semi-finals first leg.

Team news: PSG vs Manchester City

PSG: Angel di Maria won't be taking part in this fixture, as he's still suspended following his red card against City from last season. Additional absentees include Sergio Ramos and Marco Verratti, both of whom are out injured. And Pochettino will be especially concerned about the fitness of marquee signing Lionel Messi, with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner missing out on PSG's win over Montpellier due to a knee injury, but he did reportedly return to training recently so it remains to be seen if he'll be involved here.

Manchester City: The visitors have started to recover quite a few of their injured personnel, with both Aymeric Laporte and John Stones being part of the traveling party to Stamford Bridge over the weekend. However, this game could come too soon for midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, while Rodri continues to struggle for full fitness.

Match facts: PSG vs Manchester City

PSG are winless in their last three home UCL games
Meanwhile, City are unbeaten in their last ten UCL away matches
Les Parisiens lost both home and away to the Cityzens last season
This match will arrive exactly five months after PSG's first leg semis clash with PSG (April 28th; match will take place on September 28th)
PSG have never beaten City in European competition (D1 L3)