Update: Kylian Mbappe suffers a knock in training, now a doubt for Wednesday night
Paris Saint-Germain heads to Real Madrid on Wednesday night for the second of their two-legged UCL round of 16 tie. They’ll come to the Bernabeu up 1-0 from the first leg, at the Parc des Princes, but they aren’t in exactly the finest of form right now.
And they have a couple of selection issues to contend with in this. As do their opposition, of course, in this one. So with that in mind, let’s preview. Here’s who we could see in the respective first teams for each side.
Paris Saint-Germain at Real Madrid UCL Rd of 16 FYIs
Kickoff: Wed Mar 9, 8pm, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Leg 2/2, PSG leads 1-0 on aggregate
Team News for Both Sides: go here
Weekly Football Podcast: go here
Series History: PSG wins 4, Draw 3, Real Madrid wins 3
Odds: PSG win +164, Real Madrid win +145
TV: USA- CBS, Univision, TUDN UK- BT Sport 3
Starting XI Predictions
Real Madrid
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Marcelo; Camavinga, Valverde, Modric; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Paris Saint-Germain
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Pereira, Gueye, Verratti; Messi, Mbappe, Neymar
The Pick
Real Madrid 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1 (PSG advances on aggregate 2-1)
I have zero faith that PSG will finally win their first UCL, the title that they have been trying to buy for years on end already. However, I do think they’ll survive this round/tie.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.