The UEFA Champions League is in its business stage, with Bayern Munich set to go head-to-head with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the tournament’s first semi-final on Tuesday (April 28) at the Parc des Princes in a battle that will have the eyes of the world. The game promises to be an entertaining one with two of the finest attacking teams facing each other in the hope of reaching the final of Europe’s premier club competition. The winner of this game will be either Atletico Madrid or Arsenal on May 30 at the Puskas Arena.
Bayern are looking to win the Champions League for the first time in six years after their triumph in 2022. They have also sealed the Bundesliga title. The German side reached the last four after beating 15-time champions Real Madrid in the quarter-final. The dramatic last-eight clash ended 6-4 on aggregate. Previously, the Vincent Kompany-managed side defeated Atalanta in the Round of 16 by a 10–2 margin on aggregate. In the league stage, they finished second on the table.
Bayern are the joint-third most successful team alongside Liverpool in the competition’s history with six titles to their name, and another victory will see them go level with AC Milan (7).
As far as PSG are concerned, they are aiming to become only the second team after Real Madrid to defend their title in the Champions League era. Luis Enrique’s men won the tournament for the first time last year.
They had had a tough run to the semi-final after finishing outside the top eight in the league stage. The Paris-based team defeated Monaco in the playoffs before thrashing Chelsea 8–2 (on aggregate) in the league stage. Later, they defeated Liverpool 4–0 over two legs in the quarter-final.
PSG VS Bayern – All You Need To Know
Match Time: 12:30 AM IST (29th April, Wednesday)
Match Venue: Parc Des Princes, Paris
Head-To-Head: Across all competitions, PSG and Bayern have played each other 16 times. PSG lead the head-to-head by a 9-7 margin. The two teams met earlier this season in the group stage in Paris, where Bayern won 2–1 despite being the away team and being down to 10 men for the entire second half. Luis Diaz scored a brace in the first before being sent off.
predictions:This is the battle of arguably the two best teams in European team sports this season. It is the attacking quality of both sides that stands out. Both teams are only well-coached and produce some high-quality sequences and patterns, but they also have clinical forwards. Both Bayern and PSG have an attacking unit with multiple players of top quality that can produce moments of magic.
Hence, this game is likely to be full of goals and extremely close. Due to their victory earlier this season as well as better form across all competitions this season, Bayern start as slight favourites.
Telecast Details: The match will be shown on Sony Ten 2, 3,4 in India
Streaming Details:The match will be streamed on Sonyliv app and website in India
PSG Squad:Hakimi, Beraldo, Marquinhos, Zabarnyi, Kvaratskhelia, Fabian, G. Ramos, Dembélé, Doué, Vitinha, Lee Kang-In, L. Hernandez, Mayulu, Nuno Mendes, Dro, Barcola, Chevalier, Zaïre-Emery, Safonov, Mbaye, Pacho, João Neves, Renato Marin.
PSG Injuries: Quentin Ndjantou (OUT, hamstring), Vitinha (DOUBT, heel)
Bayern Munich Squad: Neuer, Ulreich, Urbig, Upamecano, Minjae, Tah, Kimmich, Goretzka, Kane, Musiala, Jackson, Luis Díaz, Olise, Davies, Ito, Laimer, Ofli, Pavić, Stanišić, Pavlović.
Bayern Munich injuries: Sven Ulreich (OUT, muscle), Cassiano Kiala (OUT, ligament), Lennart Karl (OUT, muscle), Serge Gnabry (OUT, thigh), Tom Bischof (OUT, calf), Wisdom Mike (OUT, tendon)
