Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich Champions League preview: Team news and predicted lineups
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Having secured the Bundesliga title and reached the final of the DFB-Pokal, Bayern Munich will aim to take the next step towards a potential treble when they face Paris Saint-Germain away from home in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
The Bavarians were eliminated from the Club World Cup by the French champions last summer, losing 2-0, but can take confidence from their most recent meeting in November, when they won 2-1 in the league phase of the Champions League despite being reduced to 10 men after Luis Díaz was sent off just before half-time.
After their 2-0 DFB-Pokal win over Bayer Leverkusen, a much-changed Bayern side pulled off a remarkable comeback at the weekend, coming from 3-0 down at half-time against Mainz to win 4-3, following the introduction of star trio Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala in the second half.
PSG, also resting several key players, had no problems beating Angers 3-0 away from home to move six points clear of second-placed RC Lens at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany is well aware of the challenge posed by the reigning Champions League holders.
“Paris in the Champions League, the defending champions, it's probably the toughest challenge," Kompany said ahead of the upcoming semi-final tie.
“I don't want to stop here. Now come the decisive weeks. We're looking forward to them, but we also know how difficult it will be. Our belief is there, and that's worth a lot in football.”
Team news and predicted lineups:
Except for Quentin Ndjantou, PSG coach Luis Enrique is expected to have a full squad at his disposal for the match, with Nuno Mendes and Vitinha set to be available after recent injury concerns.
As for Bayern, Tom Bischof, Lennart Karl, Serge Gnabry and Sven Ulreich have been joined on the sidelines by Raphaël Guerreiro, who suffered a minor muscle tear in his left hamstring against Mainz at the weekend.
Click here to see our predicted lineups for Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich.
