Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City will meet at Parc des Princes in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday for what could be considered as the most important of their meetings at this level to date. The Ligue 1 and English Premier League’s dominant powers have met in the quarterfinals and the semifinals in the past, but this edition’s renewal of that rivalry feels bigger than either of those for an entirely different reason.
Staring down the barrel at potential UCL elimination this early in the new-look league phase was not the plan for either of these two, who spend much of their time when not competing at European soccer’s top table plotting how they might win the next title. Les Parisiens do not have a Champions League trophy to their name yet, although they did go to the final in 2019-20 while the Citizens do have their 2022-23 to look back on as well as their 2020-21 runners-up finish.
Of course, a large element of this matchup’s allure at any given time is that it pits the Qatar-backed French giants against the United Arab Emirates-funded English juggernaut and the geopolitical one-upmanship that regularly takes center stage in the build-up. However, it is arguably only in a supporting role this time as this game will see the stakes higher than they have arguably ever been, with both PSG and City playing to avoid the unthinkable: elimination.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, January 22 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Parc des Princes – Paris, France
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: PSG +145; Draw +260; City +160
For either of these sides to not reach the knockout round would have been unfathomable just a few months ago, but as suffering European form has dictated, both teams are nervously looking over their shoulders to see how far ahead of their positional rivals they are. It does not serve to much for PSG who are in an elimination spot as things stand but City are only one point better off which means that Wednesday’s game is knife edge stuff.
Both could yet save themselves with four points or more which would logically imply that a draw would be acceptable to both Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola but there is also the incredibly sensational possibility that both teams drop out. Admittedly, it would take a stalemate here and disappointing final day defeats to make that even plausible — especially in City’s case with an extra point — but it is not impossible and that is why motivation will be so high to avoid possible ignominy.
So, is this the biggest game between PSG and City in the Champions League? We take a look at their previous meetings.
2015-16
Quarterfinals: PSG 2, City 2 and City 1, PSG 0 (3-2 City on aggregate) — This one saw Laurent Blanc pay the price for a last eight capitulation with his job as the French giants’ head coach. Paris fought back from 1-0 down to go 2-1 up before being pegged back at Parc des Prices but it was Kevin De Bruyne who ultimately came up big for City with the only goal at Etihad Stadium. However, the Citizens did not go much further that year as they went down to Real Madid in the semifinals.
2020-21
Semifinals: PSG 1, City 2 and City 2, PSG 0 (4-1 City on aggregate) — By the time that these two met in the final four in 2021, Les Parisiens had just gone to the final the year before only to lose to Bayern Munich. Mauricio Pochettino had replaced Thomas Tuchel in the French capital who later saw to it along with Thiago Silva that City would not win it that year under Guardiola. Only after a 4-1 aggregate thrashing, though, which featured two red cards across both legs for PSG who had actually scored first through Marquinhos before losing all control of the tie in Manchester.
2021-22
Group phase: PSG 2, City 0 and City 2, PSG 1 — Most similar to meeting at this early stage in a season came back in 2021 when these two crossed paths in the group stage just months after that semifinal loss. Lionel Messi inspired a 2-0 win as Idrissa Gueye atoned for his red card the previous campaign and Pochettino had gotten the better of Guardiola only to be undone by a 2-1 City fightback in Manchester which decided Group A by a single point. PSG did what many would say PSG do best an capitulated 3-2 on aggregate to Real in the round of 16 but allowing the Karim Benzema-inspired Spanish giants to advance ensured that the English behemoth was put to the sword in thrilling fashion in the semifinals 6-5 on aggregate.
Read the full article here
