Real Madrid vs Paris Saint Germain: Preview, TV channel info, Team News, Prediction

Angel di Maria will face a visit from his former club which will be a stern test for the Parisians

French Ligue 1 high-fliers Paris Saint-Germain come into the clash against Real Madrid on the back of a five-match winning streak which has seen them concede just two goals. In a battle of the undefeated, Los Blancos and Les Rouge-et-Bleu are yet to lose a game this season with both teams heading their respective league tables at the moment. PSG were knocked out 5-1 on aggregate by eventual champions Barcelona at the quarter-finals in last year’s edition of the Champions League and will hope to do better against Spanish opposition this time around.

Incidentally, Real Madrid have never won against Paris at the Parc des Princes but have a good record against French opposition overall. Los Blancos have not lost their last seven fixtures against a French side, winning five and drawing two.

Kick Off

Channel: Ten Action

Live Stream: http://www.tensports.com/live

Date and Time: Thursday, 22nd October 2015 – 00:15 am IST

Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris

Team News

Real Madrid

Real Madrid head into the match with a severely depleted squad but have recovered Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric from their spell on the side-lines. Gareth Bale didn't make the cut after picking up an injury against Levante. Pepe, Carvajal, James and Benzema are also injured and will not feature in Parc des Princes. Benitez will hope to start the Croatian duo of Modric and Kovacic in a bid to add some much needed steel in the midfield. Lucas Vázquez and Jesé will fight it out for a place in the starting XI to replace Bale.

Paris Saint Germain

The Parisian club have injury problems of their own and will not be able to count on the services of defender David Luiz who has picked up a knee injury and Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (hamstring) , but there is positive news where Marco Verratti is concerned following his recovery from a calf injury.

Form

Real Madrid

Real Madrid head into the match on the back of their 3-0 win over Levante which saw Ronaldo, Marcelo and Jese register their names on the score sheet. Marcelo has been in sublime form of late and is expected to conjure up some magic against the Parisians. Real Madrid are joint leaders at the league level on points with Barcelona and Celta Vigo.

The absence of the trio of Bale, Benzema and James will be a cause of concern for Rafa Benitez but the Spanish gaffer will draw consolation from the fact that they have conceded just 2 goals this term.

"With so many players missing, to win 3-0 and be up top, and have such good phases of play, is very positive. After the international break, with the players out, there are various good things to take from today. We had seven homegrown players on the bench, Lucas and Jese gave us extra from the bench, and Marcos Llorente did well on his debut." , opined Rafa Benitez about Real’s win over Levante.

Last 5 games: WDWDW (Most Recent: Real Madrid 3-0 Levante)

Paris St Germain

Paris are sit comfortably atop Ligue 1 and lead the table with an advantage of 5 points over second placed Angers. They are unbeaten in the French League and are yet to taste defeat in Europe. They are joint leaders of the group on points and second behind opponents Real Madrid on goal difference.

"It's a good result because we won a very difficult match [speaking about the team’s 2-0 win over Bastia]. Wednesday's match against Real Madrid will be completely different. We'll be playing at home, against one of the best teams in the world, it will be nice. Now we can focus on that match - we're ready", said manager Laurent Blanc.

Last 5 games: WWWWW (Most Recent: Bastia 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain)

Key Stats

This is the fifth time PSG and Real Madrid meet in an European competition. The Parisian club has the advantage with two wins, one draw and one defeat. Meanwhile, Los Blancos have never beaten PSG at the Parc des Princes (D1 L1).

Paris St Germain have scored in each of their previous four matches against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid are playing in the Champions League for the 19th consecutive season, the longest current run. The Los Blancos have always made it past the group stages and have won the European Cup/Champions League a record 10 times.

Probable Lineups

Real Madrid (4-3-3):

Navas; Marcelo, Ramos, Varane, Danilo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Isco, Jese, Ronaldo

Paris St Germain (4-3-3):

Sirigu; Maxwell, Silva, Marquinhos, Aurier; Motta, Pastore, Di Maria; Lucas, Cavani, Ibrahimovic

Prediction

Paris Saint Germain 1 – 2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid are expected to register a victory over their Parisian counterparts who are on a winning streak of 5 straight victories. Expect Ronaldo and Zlatan to be among the goals on Wednesday night in what promises to be a feisty Champions League encounter.