Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to firmly take charge of Group H when they continue their Champions League campaign at home to Benfica on Tuesday night.
The French giants are currently top of the section on seven points, level with second-placed Benfica, with the two teams playing out a 1-1 draw in the reverse game in Portugal last week.
Match preview
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Lionel Messi sent PSG ahead in the 22nd minute of the clash with Benfica last week, but an own goal from Danilo Pereira levelled the scores and 1-1 was how it finished in Lisbon.
The capital giants opened their Group H campaign with back-to-back wins over Juventus and Maccabi Haifa, while the draw with Benfica moved them onto seven points, leaving them top of the section, albeit level on points with their opponents on Tuesday night.
A victory in this match could be enough to see PSG advance to the knockout round with two games to spare, and it would be a huge shock if they were unable to qualify from this position.
Christophe Galtier‘s side will enter this game off the back of a goalless draw with Reims in the league on Saturday, which left them top of the table, three points ahead of second-placed Marseille.
PSG have reached the semi-finals and round of 16 in the Champions League since being finalists in 2020, and this is the competition that they are desperate to win.
The quality is undoubtedly there to launch a strong challenge for the trophy, but the team will need to get over a number of mental hurdles if they are to finally triumph in the competition.
Benfica reached the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League before losing to Liverpool, and they are once again in a strong position to progress to the knockout round of the competition.
The Portuguese giants opened their 2022-23 group-stage campaign with a 2-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa on September 6 before recording a hugely impressive 2-1 win at Juventus on September 14.
The 1-1 draw with PSG last week further fuelled claims that they are strong enough to reach the knockout round, and another positive result in this fixture would lead them nicely into their next game with Juventus on October 25.
Benfica would take charge of the group with a victory on Tuesday evening, but a loss would not be the end of the world, especially as their last game in the section is against Maccabi Haifa, with PSG and Juventus also locking horns on the final matchday.
Roger Schmidt‘s side will enter this fixture off the back of a 4-2 win over Rio Ave in the league on Saturday, which has left them at the top of their domestic table, boasting 25 points from their opening nine games.
Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:
Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
Benfica Champions League form:
Benfica form (all competitions):
Team News
PSG were missing Messi against Reims due to the calf problem that he picked up in the latter stages of the clash with Benfica, and the Argentine is unlikely to be risked here.
As a result, Pablo Sarabia could feature in the front three alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, while Nuno Mendes‘s injury will open the door for Juan Bernat to play as the left-sided wing-back.
Sergio Ramos was sent off in the league on Saturday but will start here, while Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi should be back in the side, having been named on the bench against Reims.
Renato Sanches and Presnel Kimpembe remain on the sidelines for the home side through injury.
As for Benfica, Lucas Verissimo and Felipe Morato will again be unavailable for selection due to knee and ankle injuries respectively.
There is every chance that head coach Schmidt could select the same XI from the reverse game with PSG last week, meaning that there will be changes from the league game with Rio Ave.
Indeed, Florentino Luis, Alex Grimaldo, Alexander Bah, David Neres and Rafa should all earn recalls for the Portuguese giants on Tuesday night.
Goncalo Ramos scored a hat trick against Rio Ave on Saturday and will again lead the line, with the in-demand 21-year-old now hitting 10 goals in all competitions this term.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo; Hakimi, Vitinha, Verratti, Bernat; Sarabia, Mbappe, Neymar
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Florentino, Fernandez; Neres, Rafa, Mario; Ramos
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Benfica
This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, and it would not be a surprise to see a talented Benfica side pick up a positive result on Tuesday night. PSG’s home advantage could be key, though, and we are just backing the French champions to edge a tight game to move onto 10 points in the section.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.