Man City take on PSG in the Champions League semi-final this week and it will be interesting to see how Pep Guardiola sets up his side for the first leg.
City play the first leg away from home and the first thing on their manager’s mind will be to pick up that crucial away goal. Pep Guardiola has this habit of making some uncanny changes to his starting line-up for the big games but the manager has hinted that he could ask his players to keep it simple this week.
Pep Guardiola has admitted that PSG have players who can single-handedly turn the fate of a match on its head so the best they can do is focus on their own game, rather than thinking of outwitting their opponents in every aspect.
“It’s almost impossible to control them during the full 90 minutes,” he told the press.
“We have to try to finish to review the team but the quality they have, not just Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe – [Angel] Di Maria and [Julian] Draxler when they play, the quality of the players in [Leandro] Paredes, [Marco] Verratti with the personality they play.
“They are organised at the back, but it’s the semi-final of the Champions League, if you play against Chelsea, Madrid, or just in case another team it’s always difficult.
“It’s just to try to play who we are. That’s what we are going to try to do.
“We maybe don’t have a single player who is capable to win a game all on his own like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé or Neymar. But the average level of my players is so high that no replacement throws the team off balance.”
Man City have been on a roll away from home this season, losing just one out of their previous 22 encounters across all competitions. But PSG are unlike any other side they have faced this season.
Players like Neymar and Mbappe could pose serious problems for the Premier League side on Wednesday and it will be interesting to see if the pairing of Dias and John Stones can withstand this onslaught or not.
Pep Guardiola knows only one way to set up his side so the manager will urge his players to take charge of the match and push forward while PSG are expected to hold their line and try and hit the City on the counter.
