Champions League preview: Manchester United vs PSG

Group Leaders Manchester United are looking to subdue the French Champions for the second time this season

Stadium: Old Trafford

Key Statistics

• Manchester United ended victorious in their previous two encounters against PSG.
• United are a point away from securing their place in the round of 16.

Manchester United

Manchester United are closing in on the qualification for the knockout stages as they are a point away from securing their spot in the knockout stages.

United’s near-perfect Champions League campaign was marred by the defeat against Basaksehir, but they settled the scores with an emphatic 4-1 win in the return leg.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have developed the penchant for producing comebacks of late, with their most recent win coming against Southampton, where the Red Devils bagged three goals in the second half to complete a dramatic come-back.

Edinson Cavani, who scored a brace in the 3-2 win against the Saints, is in contention to face his former club while Thomas Tuchel has labelled Marcus Rashford an annoying forward to deal with. The English forward had scored the winning goal against Le Parisiens in the away fixture.

Thomas Tuchel has praised Marcus Rashford as a 'calm, humble and nice person', but described his habit of scoring against PSG as 'annoying'.

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2020

Possible line-up:

 Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; Fred, Matic, Van de Beek; Fernandes; Rashford, Cavani

Unavailable Players:

Shaw (hamstring)

Doubtful: 

Bailly (muscular), Lingard (illness), Pogba (ankle), McTominay (fitness)

Paris Saint-Germain

Thomas Tuchel is in the hot seat following an eventful start to the 20/21 season, with the German manager even facing sacking apprehensions.

PSG have been fluctuating in the Ligue 1 this season while their Champions League campaign hasn’t fared well, following the runner-up finish last term.

Although the French giants are the topping the league table, they have dropped points in their last two games including the 3-2 defeat against Monaco – where PSG failed to hold on to the 2-0 lead in the first half.

Furthermore, Les Parisiens have suffered defeats against Manchester United and Leipzig in UCL this season however they sought their revenge with the latter in the return fixture.

Now, they are aiming to do the same to the Red Devils and PSG were the winners in the previous trip to Old Trafford.

Verratti: "We played against them in Paris. They were extremely well organised. Paul Pogba is a fantastic player. Frankly I hope he is not playing. Martial, Rashford, Fernandes are all great players. We need to play extremely well to leave with three points."

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) December 1, 2020

Verratti on #mufc game: "Controlled match last time we came to OT. We knew how they were going to play. We can’t be afraid to play our football. Man Utd are a top team with wonderful players." [via @sistoney67]— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) December 1, 2020

Possible line-up:

Navas; Florenzi, Diallo, Kimpembe, Bakker; Verratti, Marquinhos, Herrera; Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar

Unavailable Players

Bernat (knee), Draxler (thigh), Icardi (adductor), Sarabia (muscular)

I can’t explain it because Kylian can score goals at any level. Maybe this will be a good occasion for him to end that run.

It’s another reason why we only have six points. He has the quality, the personality and the experience to be decisive and we will try to push him to his best possible level.

Thomas Tuchel, PSG Manager, on Kylian Mbappe goal drought