PSG - Bayern Munich preview: Team news and predicted lineups
Here is our preview, including predicted lineups, for Tuesday's Champions League round of 16 first-leg clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Bayern may have won the final 1-0 in 2020, but were knocked out of the quarter-finals by PSG in the following campaign on away goals and will be looking to avenge that loss in an even tie.
After a three-game winless streak, Bayern have managed to win their last three games comfortably, much to the delight of head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
"My team is raring to go. The Champions League automatically provides you with that extra bit of motivation. We trained really well today," he said at the pre-match press conference.
"We've had good results recently. We're doing well again in the Bundesliga and were solid in the DFB-Pokal. PSG also had some issues due to the number of players they had on international duty."
Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, have lost two consecutive games, and Saturday's 3-1 defeat against Monaco resulted in a dressing room altercation between Neymar, Marquinhos and strategic advisor Luis Campos.
"We have lost a few games and we are frustrated about that," confirmed Neymar at a press confernece today.
"We want to win all the time. When those defeats come around, it hurts, so discussions are part of that. That can help us improve as a team. I think it has helped because we cleared things up. We know what we are all thinking."
Personnel wiss, Bayern and Nagelsmann will have to manage without long-term absentees Neuer (leg), Hernández (cruciate ligament), Mané (calf), Mazraoui (illness) as well as youngster Paul Wanner (illness), but Thomas Müller is fit to play after he picked up a minor knock in Saturday's 3-0 win over Bochum.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier should have a full squad at his disposal following Kylian Mbappé's return to training and is set to make a late decision on the involvement of the French superstar.
Check out our predicted lineups here.