The UEFA Champions League 2022/23 knockout round of 16 kicks off on 14th February 2023 with a jaw-dropping clash of two heavyweights and the tournament’s favourites facing each other. Buckle up fellas it’s BAYERN vs PSG.
Bayern Munich, the six times winner of UCL travelled to Parc Des Princes to face PSG in the first leg who are still seeking European glory after coming so close to winning the 2019/20 edition when they eventually lost to Bayern in the final. Bayern will be considering themselves unlucky after winning all 6 of their group games to only face PSG in knockouts with the repeat of a UCL Final 2020.
Form going into the match
Bayern have just hit the road at the right time ahead of their clash by winning their last 03 Bundesliga games & scoring a total of 11 goals in them. Even with Sadio Mane sidelined with the injury, the likes of Serge Gnabry & Jamal Musiala are hitting the form to share the goal scoring responsibilities. With the addition of Joao Cancelo from Manchester City, the Bavarians are looking more confident than ever in facing the Parisians this Tuesday.
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PSG are in a state of bother. After the bitter elimination from the French Cup against their bitter rivals Marseille by 2-1 they returned to Ligue 1 with another unconvincing display against Monaco who defeated them by 3-1. There is currently a lot of concern at PSG camp with the injuries & apparently a virus hitting the dressing room this weekend.
Injuries
Bayern travel to Paris with injuries to Manuel Neuer who is ruled out for the season with the broken leg, Lucas Hernandez & Sadio Mane.
For PSG a big boost was received when the World Cup’s Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe joined the training session one day before the game. Sergio Ramos also makes the squad who was initially in doubt to face the Bavarians. Leo Messi missed the clash this weekend against Monaco with a hamstring injury but reports from Paris believe that the World Champion will be fit in time for the clash.
Bayern vs PSG History
Bayern & PSG have faced each other for a total of 11 times with Bavarians winning 6 of them & Parisians with 5. Both have scored 15 goals against each other. Their last meeting was in UCL 2020/21 campaign with PSG edging out Bayern with away goals 3-3 on aggregate. While Bayern denied PSG their first ever European glory by beating them in UCL Final 2019/20 by 1-0.
Predictions
This will be a huge clash with two European powerhouses and with the injuries & absences aside this will be a 50-50 clash. Paris will be hoping for Leo Messi to repeat his dream World Cup performances & with Neymar by his side they can tear apart any defense on their day. Mbappe is not 100% but we might see him play some minutes in the 2nd half of the game.
Bayern has Europe’s most prolific attack with 59 goals after 20 games in Bundesliga this season. With the emergence of Musiala with Gnabry & Sane upfront the Bavarians pose a serious threat with their attack.
It will be a really tight game but my prediction is PSG 1-2 Bayern in this first leg with the current form both teams are in. In the end only one team has to go through & the team with better plan & tactics will come out on top. Let’s find out this Tuesday. Aren’t you excited?
