Paris SG Vs Bayern Premier League Football Match Score 2023
Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich clash in the first leg of their round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie on Tuesday night at Parc des Princes, Paris. We preview the match and look at the prediction via the Opta supercomputer.
The champions of France and Germany will collide in the Champions League on Tuesday when Paris Saint-Germain face Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Parc des Princes. PSG are hoping 2023 is the year where they end their long wait for the Champions League trophy, while the Bavarians are dreaming of being crowned champions of Europe for the seventh time. After being knocked out of the Coupe de France by Marseille, Christophe Galtier’s side were aiming to return to winning ways when they travelled to the principality to face Monaco on Saturday, but as it transpired, PSG returned to the capital empty-handed following a dismal 3-1 defeat with all four goals arriving in the first half.
The Parisians still boast a healthy five-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table, but losing two straight games is far from an ideal way to prepare for a European meeting with Bayern Munich – a side they lost to in the 2020-21 Champions League final. PSG would have hoped to have faced a slightly easier opponent in the last-16, but despite finishing level on 14 points with Benfica, they had to settle for second place in the group, as they lost out to the Portuguese giants on away goals scored.
If the French champions are to avoid a second straight last-16 exit – they were beaten by eventual winners Real Madrid at this stage last season – then they will need to make the most of home advantage, and having won 12 and drawn three of their 15 home games this season, they will certainly be confident that they can take a lead to Germany.
The hosts have also won six of their previous seven Champions League home games at the Parc des Princes, claiming wins over the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Juventus in that period, while they have only lost one of their five home meetings against Bayern in the competition – losing 1-0 when the two sides last met in April 2021.
Bayern experienced something of a mini-crisis by their high standards when they returned from the winter break with three consecutive 1-1 draws, but a sense of normality has been restored in Bavaria in recent weeks.
Julian Nagelsmann’s free-scoring side racked up four goals in victories over Mainz and Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga respectively, before they warmed up for their midweek Champions League game with a comfortable 3-0 win over Bochum at the weekend thanks to goals from Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.
Their previous draws have allowed others to close the gap at the top of the Bundesliga table, with Union Berlin just one point adrift, while Borussia Dortmund are only three points away from Bayern, but their quest for an 11th straight Bundesliga title will have to be put on hold as they prepare to make the trip to Paris. Bayern made light work of a tricky group – which included Barcelona and Inter Milan – as they progressed to the knockout rounds without dropping a single point, and they now have the chance to win their first seven games of a Champions League campaign for the second time, after previously doing so in the 2019-20 season.
The perennial German champions usually fare well at this stage of the competition, having progressed from the last-16 in nine of the last 10 seasons, including their last three European campaigns. Main questions: Back three or back four? Kingsley Coman or Alphonso Davies? Should Leon Goretzka start? Should Leroy Sane be benched? There are pros and cons to each and every single choice, as well as the underlying dynamic of Nagelsmann needing to prove himself in the Champions League due to the loss against Villarreal last year. This is all discussed in the podcast, so if you’re curious at all then give it a listen.
If you just want a quick rundown of the options, then considering what we’ve seen so far, here are three potential starting XI’s Bayern Munich could use. Each one represents a potential lineup vs PSG:
On the PSG side of things, Kylian Mbappe completed full team training on Monday which makes him almost certain to start against Bayern Munich. Galtier is likely to use a back three setup, with Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe up top — potentially forming a 3-4-3 formation with wingbacks. Aside from the front three, Marco Verrati and Achraf Hakimi are the main dangermen in offense, while Gianluigi Donnarumma will be a serious hurdle for any Bayern Munich attacker.
Oh wow, multiple sources including L’Equipe and Le Parisien (who have had all the insider info on this game so far) report that PSG will field a flat 4-4-2 against Bayern Munich. Is Galtier going to go full Brexit ball on us? Kylian Mbappe will apparently play the last half hour. That’s a huge surprise, and may be a mistake if he’s fit.
This will be the 12th competitive meeting between PSG and Bayern Munich, with all 11 previous encounters also coming in the UEFA Champions League. The head-to-head record between the pair is nearly evenly split, with Paris Saint-Germain’s six wins just outshining Bayern’s five (one draw). In fact, of all six teams who have faced Bayern Munich on 10 or more occasions in the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain have the highest win percentage against them (55% – six of 11).
PSG have had a much better time at home than away against Bayern Munich, with the French club winning four of their five previous matches at Parc des Princes. The other game of those five ended in a defeat, but even that loss was a positive for the Ligue 1 club, as Bayern’s 1-0 win wasn’t enough to see them advance to the semi-finals in April 2021 and PSG went through on away goals.
