UEFA: Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid | 10 March, 4 AM

[Mary C]

 

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS: 

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN: 

G | Gianluigi Donnarumma 

CB | Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe 

L FB | Nuno Mendes 

R FB | Achraf Hakimi 

C MF | Leandro Paredes 

L MF | Marco Verratti 

R MF | Danilo Pereira  

W | Di Maria, Mbappe  

CF | Lionel Messi  

 

REAL MADRID: 

G | Thibaut Courtois 

CB | David Alaba, Eder Militao 

L FB | Ferland Mendy 

R FB | Dani Carvajal 

C MF | Casemiro 

L MF | Toni Kroos 

R MF | Luka Modric  

W | Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio 

CF | Karim Benzema  

 

Thursday, March 10th, two big teams will be conquering the UEFA Champions League to battle greatness— it’s Paris Saint-Germain against Real Madrid. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid will be hosting the feat as Real Madrid’s quarters.  

Paris Saint-Germain are carefully watching their backs, protecting their slim first-leg advantage as they make their intimidating journey to Real Madrid in the Champions League this Thursday. While it is true that Les Parisiens were able to rule the first game in France, they had to endure 94 minutes before Kylian Mbappe was able to deliver his one-goal aggregate lead at the halfway point of their last-16 tie. On top of this, PSG is yet to win the Championship League, and Mauricio Pochettino’s men are surely in for a challenge as they dive in an early knockout clash against the tournament’s most successful club.  Taking a quick look at Pochettino’s men, Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the first leg and took part in the failure of the team to defeat Nice, which would have been a rare defeat for the Ligue 1 leaders. Kylian Mbappe decided to remain on the sidelines during PSG’s defeat over Nice because of the domestic ban and is hence well-rested for the upcoming match, but we cannot say the same for Sergio Ramos (calf).  

 

Real Madrid were not at their best in Paris but were only defeated by one-goal. Their first-leg loss in Paris was actually the first time for the Los Blancos to not score in consecutive games for this season. On a more positive note, for the visitors, it was only the second clean sheet in the competition. The team have also been eliminated from 9 out of their 10 recent knockout stage fixtures in the competition where they lost in the first leg while the visitors managed to win 12 out of 17 European ties where they won the first leg at home. At this point, Real Madrid proudly showcase the joint-best defensive record in the competition, including Chelsea and Bayern Munich, conceding a total of four goals with three of them from home. Carlo Ancelotti surely got the Spanish giants playing in a high-press game. Federico Valverde is all geared up for Madrid after recovering from the flu, which held him back from joining the team’s victory over Real Sociedad. Toni Kroos (hamstring), however, is still working hard to be available for selection to give the team the boost they need with the absence of Casemiro. Ferland Mendy is banned, and Marcelo as a regular back-up is still up in the air after picking up a knock last time out. 

 

Both teams are on edge with Real Madrid handling the absence of  a few and with PSG dealing with Mbappe’s injury scare. Weighing the situation of both teams, we see Real Madrid winning this one as they have lost only once at home for the season compared to 4 out of 5 losses for the PSG during their travels. Real Madrid have the upper hand here, and they should be able to grasp a narrow win. Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 PSG. 

Thursday, March 10, 2022, 4:00 AM (PST), Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.