Paris Saint Germain come to the Etihad Stadium in the city of Manchester knowing well that their chances of going through depend on them winning this away fixture. Manchester City, on the other hand, walk into the game with two away goals to their credit from the first leg, putting them into a comfort zone.
However, Laurent Blanc’s men will be confident of putting a few goals past this City side which looked shaky at the back in Paris. The key here is how Manchester City respond to the occasion as they aim to move into the semi finals of the Champions League for the first time since their big money take-over a few years ago.
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Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Ten Action (Ten 2)
Date and Time: 13th April 2016, 12:15 A.M. IST
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Live Streaming: http://www.tensports.com/football
Team News
Paris St. Germain
The Parisians enter the fray with the inclusion of Marco Veratti and Javier Pastore in the playing XI doubtful. PSG will look to Angel Di Maria to put in a shift in the midfield since both Blaise Matuidi and David Luiz are suspended after picking up yellow cards in the last game. Luiz’s suspension means Marquinhos will shift back to the center of the defence with Aurier being brought back from the freezer.
Moreover, Kevin Trapp is also a doubt for the game but Blanc might force him into the starting line-up.
Manchester City
Vincent Kompany is back in full training but will certainly not be in a position to start. Nicolas Otamendi is doubtful after an ankle problem in the weekend. Raheem Sterling is yet to return from his injury. David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, however, will probably be in the starting line up for the game.
Gael Glichy and Yaya Toure are set to start the game as well.
Probable Lineups
Paris St. Germain (4-3-3): Trapp; Aurier, Marquinhos, Silva, Maxwell; Rabiot, Motta, Di Maria; Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Moura
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Mangala, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Silva, De Bruyne, Toure; Aguero
Form
Paris St. Germain
The Parisian side come into this game on the back of a regulation win at Guingamp, a game in which they rested majority of their preferred eleven. Both goals in that game came from Lucas Moura who could start at the Etihad as well. PSG have won 3 of their last 5 games and drawn once (against Manchester City) and lost once as well.
Last 5 Matches: W-L-W-D-W ( Last match: Guingamp 0-2 Paris St. Germain)
Manchester City
Manchester City have had to labour long and hard against a resilient West Bromwich side at the weekend. The Sky Blues could only rest a few of their players for a relatively tougher game than PSG had in their league. Manuel Pellegrini’s men enter the game with decent results, 2 wins, a loss and 2 draws in their last five games.
Last 5 Matches: D-L-W-D-W ( Last match: Manchester City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion)
Key Stats:
- Paris St. Germain have scored at least 2 goal in each of their last 5 UCL matches
- Paris St. Germain have scored 19 goals in their last 7 games.
- Manchester City have not kept a clean sheet in 8 of their 9 UCL matches this season
- Paris St. Germain are undefeated in their last 5 games in the UEFA Champions League
Key Battles:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Nicolas Otamendi
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start this game with the hope that he can make amends for the relentless number of chances he wasted or failed to capitalize on in the first leg. Zlatan indeed could’ve buried Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League hopes on his own had he put all of his chances in the back of Joe Hart’s net on the night, one of which included a spot kick that was saved majestically by the English keeper.
Nicolas Otamendi had a sufficiently torrid night against the Sweden International in the first leg and will look to set the record straight. However, he will probably enter the arena not hundred percent fit for the occasion.
Sergio Aguero vs Thiago Silva
Sergio Aguero has struggled to retain some of his celestial form from when the season began but his presence up front is sure to create space for his team mates. With Yaya Toure back in contention behind him, his ability to involve the two central defenders ahead of him and create space for others will be crucial for the home team.
Thiago Silva had a decent outing the last time around as he dealt with the threat of Sergio Aguero fairly well but could not stop the others from scoring to level the game. Thiago Silva will hope to do an even better job this time as he enters the fray without his usual partner in David Luiz.
Prediction
Paris St. Germain will look to make amends for their relatively meek performance at home and Manchester City will be motivated by the fact that they will be playing their first Champions League semi-final if they win this particular tie. It’s difficult to predict but this could end with Paris St. Germain trudging home with broad smiles on their face
Manchester City 1-2 Paris St. Germain
Betting Odds: (Bet 365)
Manchester City: 9/5
Draw: 13/5
Paris Saint-Germain: 31/20
