Today evening in the UEFA Champions League, the first stage of the first four groups (A-D) will end. An intriguing clash is expected in Germany, where local Munich's "Bayern" will face Paris' "Saint-Germain".
These matches hold great importance - both clubs have already secured their spots in the quarter-finals. PSG is in the first position, and in order for Bayern to secure the first place, they must win by a four-goal margin. The intrigue remains, as "Bayern" suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first match against Parisians and will definitely want to avenge this painful loss.
Form:
The loss against PSG cost Carlo Ancelotti his job at Bayern - the coach was fired from his position. Jupp Heynckes, who returned to his place, immediately sorted things on the field, although recently the Munich team has been struggling to achieve easy wins.
In the last five matches, Bayern defeated their opponents four times and only experienced a loss once under J. Heynckes. The German champions defeated Dortmund's "Borussia", "Augsburg", "Anderlecht", and "Hannover", but in the last match, they lost 1-2 to Monchengladbach's "Borussia".
Overall, in the last five matches, Bayern scored 13 goals, but conceded one in four of them.
On the other hand, PSG suffered a setback over the weekend, losing 1-2 to "Strasbourg" in the "Ligue 1" championship. This was their first defeat of the season.
Before that, the PSG team had almost only victories. In the last five matches, except for the weekend loss, the Paris team won all four games - against "Nantes", "Celtic", "Monaco", and "Troyes".
Throughout these matches, PSG scored a total of 16 goals, and like Bayern, conceded one goal per match in four games.
In the Champions League group stage, PSG marched flawlessly - achieving five victories out of five, setting a record of 24 goals scored. "Bayern" only suffered that mentioned loss against PSG in this cycle, but their offense was significantly weaker - scoring only 10 goals.
Team News:
In these matches, Bayern will certainly not be able to field their strongest lineup. Due to injuries, Juan Bernat, Arjen Robben, Thiago, and Manuel Neuer are out of the squad. The good news is that over the weekend, Franck Ribery finally returned to the field and the Frenchman should make an appearance in the second half.
PSG does not have such significant losses - only Thiago Motta will be unavailable due to injury. However, this is not the biggest setback for the Paris team, and Unai Emery will be able to field a strong lineup.
Predicted Starting Lineups:
Bayern: Ulreich; Kimmich, Hummels, Boateng, Alaba; Martinez, Vidal, Tolisso; James, Coman, Lewandowski.
PSG: Areola; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Kurzawa; Rabiot, Verratti, Draxler; Mbappe, Cavani, Neymar.
Interesting Facts:
Upon Jupp Heynckes' return to Bayern, the German champions achieved 10 wins, played one draw, and recently had to admit the opponents' superiority.
In the last 12 Champions League matches of Paris Saint-Germain, at least three goals have been scored per game.
Bayern have played 55 times in history at their stadium on Tuesdays in the Champions League and have only been forced to accept defeat five times.
If PSG manages to take the lead in Germany, Bayern could face serious problems, as the Parisians win every match in which they score first.
In total, Bayern and PSG have faced each other seven times, and none of the matches ended in a draw - the home team has won in all but one of these seven matches.
PSG had an advantage over their opponents in the Champions League this season, leading both at halftime and at the end of the matches.
