First in Group F thanks to their victory against Borussia Dortmund (2-0), Paris Saint-Germain will have the opportunity to carry out a great operation on Wednesday evening at St James’ Park. In the event of a victory against Newcastle, Luis Enrique’s men could relegate their current runner-up (1 point after the draw against AC Milan) to five lengths. Kylian Mbappé’s partners will, however, have to be much more effective than in Clermont (0-0).
Especially since Eddie Howe’s Magpies, after a delicate start to the season, remain on three wins and a draw in their last four matches, including a prestigious success against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup (1-0). All this without forgetting the crazy atmosphere promised by the public at St James’ Park, impatient to listen to the Champions League anthem again, twenty years later. Finally, for fans of geopolitics, this meeting will be followed in the Middle East since the Saudi owners of the Toons are hoping for a notable victory against the Qataris of PSG.
Significant absences
On paper, you have all the ingredients for PSG to have a lively evening in the north-east of England. However, Howe will have to deal with a reshuffled squad. Already deprived of midfielder Joe Willock since the start of the season, Howe will also have to do without his summer recruit (€44 million) Harvey Barnes (1 goal, 1 assist). And that’s not all. The Toons attack will be without Joelinton. Coming into play this weekend against Burnley in the 64th minute, the Brazilian left injured four minutes later.
More annoying for the English, scorer Callum Wilson (4 goals in 6 matches this season) is also out due to a hamstring problem. Finally, the defensive sector is not spared since the former Lille player Sven Botman will also be missing due to a knee injury, while Bruno Guimarães could be in the game, but his ankle would cause him pain. Faced with this somewhat diminished team, it’s up to Paris to take advantage.
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