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Soccer fans rejoice – today marks the long-awaited start of the UEFA Champions League. In the first round, fans can expect not just one memorable duel, but the match that will attract the most attention of fans will be the meeting in the French capital, where PSG will try to settle the score with "Man Utd" club for past grievances. UEFA statistics indicate that the champions of "Ligue 1" have faced the "Red Devils" only twice in the past – the most recent meeting occurred in the 2018/2019 season, when in the quarterfinals Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's pupils managed to surprise dramatically (3:1) in a comeback for a 0:2 loss at "Old Trafford" stadium. At that time, PSG leader Neymar expressed his anger on social media, as he was unable to appear on the field due to injury and watched the match from the stands. The Brazilian later received a suspension for his comments towards referees and a suggestion to "shut up" to them. There is no doubt that the striker has not forgotten past grievances and will try to shine this evening at the "Parc des Princes" arena.
Sporting form PSG strikers are demonstrating their strength in the French league – in just the last two matches, T. Tuchel's team scored ten goals and conceded only one. "Man Utd" performances have been more fluctuating, but fans also cannot complain about the number of victories. In their recent six matches, the English achieved 4 wins and lost twice, while PSG won five times against opponents and experienced just one failure.
Loses The hosts will have such players missing as Mauro Icardi, Juan Bernat, Thilo Kehrer, Leandro Paredes, and Marco Verratti, but Marquinhos, Julian Draxler, and Danilo Pereira may return to the lineup. "Man Utd" will still be without Edinson Cavani, Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Jesse Lingard, and Eric Bailly.
Predicted Starting Lineups PSG (4-3-3): Navas; Florenzi, Diallo, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Gueye, Pereira, Rafinha; Di Maria, Neymar, Mbappe "Man Utd" (3-4-1-2): De Gea; Fosu-Mensah, Lindelof, Shaw; Wan-Bissaka, Matic, Pogba, Telles; Fernandes; Rashford, Martial Referee The match will be led by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz Prediction Popular European football portals predict a 3:1 victory for the hosts, but for example, "Goal" does not rule out a draw result of 1:1.
Interesting Facts PSG has lost only 7 matches out of 53 UEFA Champions League matches at home, and no French club has beaten them twice. After the fiasco against "Man Utd", PSG has won four matches at home; "Man Utd" did not play against a French club in the group stage since the 2005/2006 season when they did not beat the "Lille" team (1 draw, 1 loss). In total, the English club has triumphed only once in France in six group stage matches (3 draws, 2 losses), beating "Bordeaux" 2-1 in 2000; PSG has not lost a home game in the group stage since December 2004 (3-1 against CSKA Moscow); K. Mbappe has scored 19 goals in the Champions League (4 of them against English clubs) and if he scores tonight, he will surpass L. Messi in the record book as the youngest player to score 20 goals; recently "Man Utd" attacker E. Cavani became the top scorer of all time for PSG in the UEFA Champions League; "Man Utd" has lost four of their last five tournament matches. The current streak (two consecutive losses) could repeat the record of three consecutive failures in the 2004/2005 season.
