Paris Saint-Germain will travel to the Israeli city of Haifa this Wednesday to take on Israeli Premier League leaders Maccabi Haifa Football Club in the second round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Venue: Sammy Ofer Stadium (Haifa)
Key Statistics
Maccabi Haifa have won their last four home games.
They have scored 3+ goals in each of their last four home games.
They are also unbeaten in their last five games played at the Sammy Ofer Stadium (W4, D1).
Paris Saint-Germain are unbeaten in their last 18 competitive games (W14, D4).
They have won their last five away games.
They have also kept four clean sheets in their last five away games.
Head to head
This is the first meeting between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Haifa: W-L-W-W-W
PSG: W-W-W-W-D
Maccabi Haifa
After dispatching Olympiacos, Apollon and Crvena Zvezda in the qualifiers of the UEFA Champions League, Maccabi Haifa began their campaign in Europe’s premier club competition with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Benfica last week.
The Israeli side put up a decent fight at the Estádio da Luz last Tuesday but were undone by second-half goals from Rafa Silva and Alex Grimaldo.
However, they brushed that defeat aside over the weekend as they defeated Nes Tziona in the Ligat Ha’al. The win ensured that they remain top of the league table, two points behind illustrious rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Their aim will now be to translate their domestic form against big teams such as PSG who are favourites to finish top of Group C. Barak Bakhar’s men are the lowest ranked team in their group and are betting outsiders to finish within the top two.
With Benfica and Juventus ahead of them in pedigree and quality, the best they can hope for is a third-place finish so that they can continue their sojourn in the Europa League this season. And so, they will welcome PSG to Haifa, hoping for at least a point to keep their chances of a top three finish alive. Given their home form, they will fancy their chances of getting a positive result.
Possible Maccabi Haifa starting line-up
Josh Cohen; Daniel Sundgren, Sean Goldberg, Ofri Arad, Pierre Cornud; Neta Lavi, Ali Mohamed; Omer Atzili, Tjaronn Chery, Din David; Frantzdy Pierrot.
Injured: Mahmoud Jaber,
Doubtful: Suf Podgoreanu
Suspended: None
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain showed why they are considered the bookie’s favourites to win this group when they beat Juventus 2-1 last Tuesday in the UCL group stage opener.
In a dramatic game at Parc des Princes, a brace by star forward Kylian Mbappe gave PSG a two-goal lead in the first half. Weston McKennie scored in the second half to halve the deficit but his goal only proved a consolation for Juve.
The win was followed up by another 1-0 win over Brest over the weekend, meaning that the Parisians come into this tie unbeaten in their last 18 games in all competitions (W14, D4).
Lionel Messi and co. look like they are finally ready to thrill in Europe under Christophe Galtier. And so, they make their trip to Israel full of confidence that this could be their year to finally end their curse in the Champions League.
The visitors have a strong away form and come into this tie on the back of five straight-away wins. In those five games, they scored 22 times and conceded only once, while keeping four clean sheets.
Possible PSG starting line-up
Gianluigi Donnarumma; Danilo Pereira, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos; Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha, Marco Verratti, Nuno Mendes; Lionel Messi; Kylian Mbappe, Neymar.
Injured: Presnel Kimpembe, Renato Sanches, Timothee Pemble
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Maccabi Haifa 1-3
