Paris Saint-Germain faces AC Milan for the 3rd day of the Champions League group stage this Wednesday. Here is the expected line-up for the capital club.
Somehow, Paris Saint-Germain’s record in the Champions League perfectly reflects the two faces of the capital club since the arrival of Luis Enrique. After a convincing success against Borussia Dortmund (2-0), the French champions collapsed in a big way by making an unworthy copy of Newcastle (1-4). In this context, the double confrontation against AC Milan is a turning point in this group stage of the Champions League.
“It’s a turning point for everyone. For our group, who are happy with what we are doing and what playing in a competition like the Champions League entails, underlined the PSG coach. For us, it’s a great opportunity with these two matches against AC Milan, it almost feels like a knockout round more than two group matches. But I think we won’t know until the last day who will qualify in this group. For us, as for them, these are two really vital matches because it can condition the circumstances of the last two days depending on who wins…”.
Luis Enrique blurs the lines!
Luis Enrique doesn’t think he’s saying that well. But the former Barça coach will have a key role in these two confrontations. With one question pending: what tactical version will he offer in his composition? The 4-4-2 (or 4-2-4) animation should not change, but it is also conditioned by the choice of men. The presence of Vitinha, a training midfielder, brings density to the midfield.
Against Rennes, in the championship, Luis Enrique had relaunched the Portuguese in his starting lineup, a few days after the debacle at Newcastle. But the Spaniard changed his mind again by opting again for a lineup with 4 players with an offensive vocation – or even 5 – against Strasbourg with the presence of Kylian Mbappé, Gonçalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola, Kang-in Lee and Carlos Soler.
A rotation which calls for a much more classic composition against Milan. The trend would indeed be towards an asymmetrical 4-4-2 with yet another return from Vitinha. Absent on Saturday, Manuel Ugarte, Warren Zaire-Emery, Achraf Hakimi and Milan Skriniar are also expected to start. Kylian Mbappé will obviously be present, while Gonçalo Ramos could be preferred to Randal Kolo Muani in the center.
The expected lineup for PSG : Donnarumma – Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, L. Hernandez – Ugarte, Zaire-Emery – Dembélé, Vitinha – G. Ramos (or Kolo Muani), Mbappé.
