Paris Saint-Germain go into Wednesday night’s Champions league last-16 second leg tie against Manchester United with one foot in the quarterfinals. The Parisians outclassed the Red Devils in the first leg at Old Trafford securing a 2-0 win. PSG’s dominance was unexpected due to the absence of forward Neymar.
However, without the Brazilian, they put in a strong shift preventing Manchester United’s forwards from having a sniff of goal.
Since losing the first leg on February 12th, Manchester United have gone four matches unbeaten in all competitions. They have returned to the form they showed prior to their loss to PSG. Despite winning in both the Premier League and FA Cup, the Red Devils are far from the team PSG are in terms of talent.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be without eight players at the Parc des Prince. Paul Pogba is the most significant of the players who will miss the game. The Frenchman was shown a red card in the first leg and will serve a suspension on Wednesday night. Ander Herrera, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez, Nemanja Matic, Matteo Darmian, and Antonio Valencia are all out as well. Sokskjaer will call upon several members of Manchester United’s youth team. Without so many first-choice players, it is unlikely the Red Devils will get the best of PSG.
PSG are still without Neymar, who won’t return until at least the quarterfinal stage. The biggest news surrounding him, however, is a possible departure in the summer to Barcelona or Real Madrid. PSG proved they do not need Neymar in the team to win and be successful. In fact, Neymar makes the side more vulnerable due to his lack of tracking back and helping out in defence. His poor defensive effort showed in PSG’s group stage games against Liverpool and Napoli.
Despite criticism toward PSG manager Thomas Tuchel, he has been praised by right-back Dani Alves for bringing the “pleasure” back to football. Tuchel doesn’t look like a traditional manager during matches, but more like a motivator and advisor. Alves has called for his teammates to put their egos on hold for the competition.
In 34 of PSG’s 39 games in all competitions this term, there have been over 1.5 goals scored. Just five times have the Parisians’ matches seen fewer than 1.5 goals. Manchester United have played PSG in two matches in recent time. Prior to their Champions League match in February, the clubs met in a friendly in 2015. PSG won the friendly 2-0.
The French club have one foot in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Manchester United are on the verge of elimination. PSG will once again gain a victory of Manchester United with over 1.5 goals scored. Tuchel’s team will put two goals past David De Gea while keeping a clean sheet at the Parc des Prince.