(Update: Lionel Messi is back in training, and in contention to start tomorrow night)
Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino actually has a much tougher job than most people might think. PSG is kind of a video game team, a fantasy football squad, but it’s real life. The Argentine has to try and get all these egregiously well paid superstars to all work and gel together.
He needs to foster team chemistry, figure out the roles for all his individual footballers, and find a way to make sure they all fit into these roles. It is all much easier said than done.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester City ( UCL Group Stage) FYIs:
Kick-off time: 8 PM GMT, 28 September Tuesday
Starting XI Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain Manchester City
Team News: Paris Saint-Germain Manchester City
Form Guide (All Competitions): Paris Saint-Germain (WDWWW) Manchester City (WWDWW)
Up next for PSG, who have taken a perfect 21 points from 21 possible in Ligue 1 on the young season, is a visit from Manchester City in UEFA Champions League group stage play.
However, dominating domestically is all old hat to PSG. It’s this specific competition, the UCL, that they’re focused on trying to win- just like their midweek opponent. The status of galactico of all galacticos Lionel Messi remains uncertain for this game; at least right now.
Thus, we’re going to slot in the German Julian Draxler at his position here.
Paris Saint-Germain Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City ( UCL )
Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Diallo; Gueye, Paredes, Herrera; Draxler, Mbappe, Neymar
Prediction: PSG 1, City 1
Not going out on a limb here with anything bold.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.