Tuesday night sees a rematch of the extemely memorable 2018-19 Champions League quarter-final tie, in which Manchester United went against all odds and flipped the script on Paris Saint-Germain.
The Parc Des Princes leg in that tie, which saw United win 3-1 and overturn a 0-2 deficit from the Old Trafford leg, stands as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s finest moment as United manager. The margin was enough to get United through to the UCL round of eight, and it cinched the gig for Solskjaer on a full time basis. He was still interim manager at that point, but got the upgrade soon after.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester United UCL Group Stage FYIs
Kickoff: Tuesday, October 20, 8pm, Parc Des Princes
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
More team news and notes, press conference video, quotes: coming soon
TV: TNT (US), Stream: fuboTV
Odds, Moneyline via FanDuel: United +450, Paris Saint-Germain -175, Draw +330
Projection via Five Thirty Eight: United win 19%, PSG win 61% win, Draw 20%
The tie is also a rematch of the de facto “title” game (as preseason tournaments don’t truly have “titles”) of the 2015 International Champions Cup, won convincingly by PSG at Soldier Field in Chicago. United’s tie against last year’s UCL runners-up also provides a chance for Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria to catch up with old teammates.
The midweek group stage clash will not mark the debut of Edinson Cavani at United. He didn’t travel with the side to Paris. However, the real news here concerns Neymar. The world’s most expensive player missed the whole tie with an injured metatarsal in 2019, and after PSG collapsed at home, he unleashed an expletive-laden rant on social media.
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel maintains that his Brazilian winger will be ready to go, after he was rested for a 4-0 win over Nimes.
“Ney doesn’t have any issue. We talked together, like I did with Kylian,” Tuchel said.
“We had an honest discussion and I decided to let him rest today. He will be with us tomorrow. He will train and get ready for the game against Manchester United. He will be on the pitch, for sure.”
Neymar has missed four of PSG’s seven league games this season, but they have won three of those. With or without Neymar, the United defense will certainly have their hands full. They badly needed a response, led by their leader and the world’s most expensive defender Harry Maguire, yesterday, and they got one.
United left it very late, scoring three of their four goals after the 85′, but they achieved a badly needed win last night at Newcastle United.
It was certainly a step in the right direction, but now they’ll journey to the City of Light, which is on a strict 9pm curfew right now, to face a much tougher challenge.
Prediction: PSG 1, United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “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, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.