Man City beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League last weekend, thereby stamping their dominance on the domestic level once again. And now they shift their focus to the Champions League where they face PSG in the group stages.
This PSG vs Man City game on Tuesday is undoubtedly going to be the main event of Matchday two of the UCL, especially since Pep Guardiola’s side will be facing a team that has Lionel Messi in it.
City totally overpowered Thomas Tuchel’s side during the weekend and that win will give them a lot of confidence in facing the Parisian giants on Tuesday. But unlike all the other games, Pep will have to pay special attention to his team’s defensive cohesiveness since the likes of Neymar, Mbappe and Messi have the ability to tame down any major side.
Man City are unbeaten in their last 10 games in the Champions League and surprisingly they are yet to taste defeat against PSG. The last time the Cityzens lost an away game in Europe was back in 2017 against Shakhtar.
Man City team news vs PSG:
Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias paired up in central defence against Chelsea while John Stones watched from the bench. But against PSG, the England international should come back into the side, replacing Laporte.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is on the sidelines with an injury so Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker will both keep their places in the starting line-up.
Rodri was stellar in defensive midfield vs Chelsea and if exhaustion is not a problem then the 25-year-old will start against PSG as well. But, having said that, Pep also has the option of the more experienced Fernandinho.
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Ilkay Gundogan is recovering from a knock and we are still not sure if he will be fit enough to start on Tuesday or not. If he starts on the bench then Bernardo Silva gets to keep his place in the first XI otherwise the Portuguese will have to make way.
Phil Foden played as the false nine against Chelsea but had a very average outing so he is likely to drop to the bench as Ferran Torres comes back into the side.
Riyad Mahrez should start on the right flank but choosing his left-sided attacker is going to be a bit of a headache for the Man City manager. Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling are fighting for that one elusive spot but after his performance against Chelsea, Gabriel Jesus will also expect to keep his place in the starting line-up.
Sterling scored the only goal of the game on Saturday and had a 7.8 rating on Whoscored. So ideally, he should get the nod ahead of Grealish and Sterling. But then again, Pep Guardiola will need fresh legs on the pitch against a team like PSG.
Man City predicted line up vs PSG:
Predicted Starting Line up: Ederson; Stones, Dias, Walker, Cancelo; Rodri/Fernandinho, Silva/Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne; Torres, Mahrez, Grealish/Sterling/Jesus.
