When they resume their run in the Champions League on Tuesday night against Benfica at home, Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to solidly seize the lead in Group H. Benfica will be their opponent.
The French giants are presently in the first position in the group with seven points, which is the same amount as second-placed Benfica. The two clubs tied 1-1 in the first encounter between them, which took place in Portugal the week before last.
Our Match Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs Benfica
PSG went up early on Benfica last week thanks to a goal from Lionel Messi, but an own goal from Danilo Pereira resulted in a 1-1 draw in Lisbon.
After opening their Group H campaign with consecutive victories against Juventus and Maccabi Haifa, the capital giants drew with Benfica to move onto seven points and take exclusive possession of the first place in the group.
If PSG wins this match, they will likely qualify for the knockout round with two games to spare. I would be surprised if they did not progress.
After a goalless draw with Reims on Saturday, Christophe Galtier’s squad enters this matchup as the league’s top team, three points clear of second-place Marseille. Since losing in the championship game in 2020, PSG have advanced to the Champions League semi-finals and a round of 16.
There is no question that the squad has the talent to make a serious run at the trophy, but they still must overcome a lot of psychological obstacles to claim victory. Last season, Benfica advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League before falling to Liverpool.
This season, they are in a good position to repeat that performance. The Portuguese giants started off the group stage of the 2022-23 season with a 2-0 win against Maccabi Haifa on September 6 and a 2-1 win at Juventus on September 14.
Another win in this match would set them up well for their next game against Juventus on October 25. Their 1-1 draw with PSG last week bolstered assertions that they are strong enough to reach the knockout stage.
With a win on Tuesday night, Benfica will assume control of the group; but, a defeat would not be catastrophic, since they finish off the group stage against Maccabi Haifa and the other two teams in the group, PSG and Juventus, are also meeting that day.
They enter this matchup on the heels of a 4-2 league triumph against Rio Ave on Saturday, which has propelled Roger Schmidt’s squad to the top of their domestic standings with 25 points after nine games.
Our Team news: Paris Saint-Germain vs Benfica
PSG was without Messi against Reims owing to the calf ailment that he accepted in the later stages of the match with Benfica, and the Argentine is unlikely to risk himself here due to the severity of the injury that he sustained against Benfica.
As a consequence of this, Pablo Sarabia might play in the front three with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, while the injury suffered by Nuno Mendes will supply an opportunity for Juan Bernat to play on the left side of the defense as a wing-back.
The previous day in the league, Sergio Ramos was sent a red card, but he will start today. Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi should both return to the side after being put to the bench against Reims.
Both Renato Sanches and Presnel Kimpembe are still unable to play for the home team because of injuries. On the Benfica side of things, Lucas Verissimo and Felipe Morato will once again be ineligible for choice owing to ailments to their knees and ankles, respectively.
There is a good likelihood that head coach Schmidt will go with the same starting eleven that they used in the game against PSG in the other direction last week. This would show that there would be substitutions made compared to the team that played Rio Ave in the league.
Indeed, Florentino Luis, Alex Grimaldo, Alexander Bah, David Neres, and Rafa ought to all earn recalls for the Portuguese giants on Tuesday night. On Saturday, Goncalo Ramos scored a triple trick against Rio Ave, and he will continue to lead the line.
The in-demand 21-year-old now has 10 goals in all competitions this season. Goncalo Ramos will continue to lead the line.
- Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup: Donnarummam Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo, Hakimi, Vitinha, Verratti, Bernat, Sarabia, Mbappe, Neymar.
- Benfica possible starting lineup: Vlachodimos, Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo, Florentino, Fernandez, Neres, Rafa, Mario, Ramos.
Our Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Benfica
This has all the makings of an overly exciting match, and it would not be surprising to see a talented Benfica team pull up a good result on Tuesday night. This match has all the makings of an interesting encounter.
However, the fact that PSG will be playing at home might prove to be a decisive factor, and we believe that the French champions will prevail in a close match to move onto 10 points in the section.