Manchester City v PSG preview

Posted Tuesday, April 12, 2016 by foxsportsasia.com

Manchester City have a crucial away-goals advantage as they prepare to host Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The two clubs funded by petro-billions will both be vying for their first ever Champions League semi-final, but it’s the English side with the advantage after they scored two important away goals in the 2-2 draw in Paris last week.

Out of the Premier League title race, City have their sights firmly set on European success, something which has eluded their Emirati owners thus far.

PSG have already been confirmed as Ligue 1 champions, and will also be fully focused on reaching the next stage of the competition without the distraction of domestic football.

Bar an impressive first leg result against the Parisians, City’s performances have been poor and inconsistent since the club announced that manager Manuel Pellegrini will be replaced in the summer by Pep Guardiola. Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over West Brom was preceded by just two victories in their last seven outings in all competitions.

Despite the negatives, City’s squad has been buoyed by Kevin de Bruyne’s return from injury – one which many will argue ended City’s title hopes. Since the Belgian’s comeback three games ago, City have scored eight goals, compared to just one in their previous three matches.

The English club are also benefiting from Sergio Aguero’s best form of the season: No player has scored more goals in the Premier League in 2016 than the Argentine.

In response to criticism of his side, who have never won a Champions League knockout match at home, Pellegrini said: “Why can’t we believe? Why would the players not believe, because they are feeling every season they are doing better? We have received a lot of criticism that we don’t know how to play in Europe but we know how to play in Europe.”

In team news, Pellegrini may recall Vincent Kompany to an otherwise dodgy defence. The Belgian defender has been out of action since picking up a calf injury against Dynamo Kiev last month. Samir Nasri, who scored Saturday’s winner, is ineligible for the tie.

For PSG, David Luiz and Blaise Matuidi are suspended for the match, following yellow cards picked up in the first leg.

Marco Verratti returns to the squad, despite Laurent Blanc insisting he had “no chance” of making the game. The Italian midfielder missed out on the first leg, although his replacement on the night, Adrien Rabiot, netted PSG’s second goal. Rabiot will almost certainly start again tomorrow given Matuidi’s suspension.

Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore remains out, while the French club will be hoping goalkeeper Kevin Trapp will be available after he was substituted with a knee problem in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Guingamp.