STAR PREVIEW Tues: PSG v Man U

The old saying goes ‘Start as you mean to go on’ and tonight’s Group H opener between PSG and Manchester United could see the Champions League kick off with a bang. Thomas Tuchel’s had an eventful start to the campaign with last season’s European runners up and will have to manage his resources extremely carefully; Indeed, they may have just the 11 players for tonight with Mauro Icardi (knee), Juan Bernat (knee), Thilo Kehrer (groin), Marquinhos (thigh), Marco Verratti (quadriceps), Julian Draxler (adductor), Danilo Pereira (illness) and Leandro Paredes (thigh) all likely to miss tonight’s game.

However, there is a silver lining for the hosts; Their big three forwards – Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria are all fit to start and Ander Herrera’s presence in midfield will be important in finding them as they face a United defence that has conceded in each Premier League game this season.

PSG v Manchester United
UEFA Champions League Group Stage
20:00 BT Sport 2 HD

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches, since 2010)
MAR 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PSG 1-3 Manchester United
FEB 2019 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Manchester United 2-0 PSG

It has been a rocky start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men this season but it would be unwise to underestimate them – he enjoyed his best moment as a manager when pulling off an extraordinary smash and grab here to reach the quarter-finals eighteen months ago, and their counter-attacking preference is ideal for European assignments as we’ve seen on many an occasion.

Their 4-1 victory over Newcastle may have seemed flattering at face value – they scored three goals in the last five minutes – but they dominated the game, winning the shots on target count 14-4 and the corner count 7-0. It was much better than the extraordinary meltdown they had against Tottenham when they took the lead, gave it back within two minutes and somehow managed to lose 6-1 when torn to pieces by the speed and skill of Spurs.

It will not have gone unnoticed how Heung-Min Son & Harry Kane carved through the United midfield and defence and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this game was an open one again. We know of PSG’s attacking strength, but Marcus Rashford is lethal on the break and Bruno Fernandes gives them a focal point in midfield that can put PSG under pressure. Both teams to score and over 2.5 could be the play here.

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