After an inaugural success against Borussia Dortmund, PSG is back at it again this Wednesday in the Champions League. In a very tough Group F, it is now Newcastle which finds itself on the road to the capital club. For their part, the Magpies went for an almost miraculous draw on the pitch at AC Milan and have had a checkered start to the season in the Premier League. Having had some problems at the start, Eddie Howe’s flock recovered well and remains on three victories in a row in all competitions, including a prestigious success against a reshuffled Manchester City team in the Carabao Cup. To ride this dynamic, the residents of St James’ Park will want to win this Wednesday against the Parisians and in front of their white-hot audience following the return of the Champions League to their stadium, almost 21 years later.
However, Eddie Howe will have to cope without several starters who were out or uncertain before the match. For example, while Nick Pope will keep the English goals, the 45-year-old technician will have to cope without Sven Botman in the central hinge. Thus, it is Jamaal Lascelles who should replace the former LOSC player by being associated with Fabian Schär while Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn will respectively occupy the right flank and the left flank of the rearguard. In the midfield, in the absence of Joelinton and Newcastle should present themselves with a 3 midfield made up of Bruno Guimarães, a slightly diminished Sandro Tonali, and Sean Longstaff. In attack, Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron will lead the sides to serve Alexander Isak alone up front.
Luis Enrique has a full group
And while his English counterpart must face several difficulties, Luis Enrique can boast of having all his strength at his disposal. Even if his players stalled in Clermont this weekend (0-0), the Spanish technician is making a serious debut and clearly did not miss his debut on the European scene. Indeed, two weeks ago at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain made short work of an amorphous Borussia Dortmund. While his team was playing in 4-3-3 during this period, the former coach of La Roja then tried a 4-2-4 which caused a lot of harm to Marseille during the Classic but which had shown a lot limits in Auvergne this weekend.
This is why Enrique should abstain this Wednesday and start again with a convincing 4-3-3. Unsurprisingly, Gianluigi Donnarumma will keep the Parisian goals. In front of him, a four-man defense made up of Achraf Hakimi, incredible against Dortmund, Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernandez should take their place. For the middle, we will stay on classic with Manuel Ugarte as sentinel who will be accompanied by Warren Zaire-Emery and Vitinha as torchbearers. In attack, the Mbappé-Kolo Muani-Dembélé trio should be renewed even if a last minute change with the incorporation of Gonçalo Ramos in place of RKM cannot be ruled out. Here are the likely lineups for this Wednesday’s breathtaking clash in the Champions League!
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