Paris Saint-Germain will host Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday with the French giants trailing 1-0 from last week’s clash in Germany.
Niclas Fullkrug’s first-half goal was enough to separate the two sides in Dortmund and now they will meet at the Parc des Princes, where PSG are hoping to overturn the deficit and advance to their first Champions League final since 2020.
Les Parisiens are still chasing their first-ever victory in Europe’s top club competition and Kylian Mbappe and co will be desperate as they attempt to end BVB’s dream of becoming continental champions again.
PSG defender Lucas Hernandez suffered a serious knee injury in the first leg and will be out of action for at least six months, so either Lucas Beraldo or Milan Skriniar will step in.
Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa and Sergio Rico are all also still absent, while the likes of Marco Asensio and Goncalo Ramos are likely to start
A much-changed Dortmund hammered Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, but the big names will all be back for the trip to Paris.
Jadon Sancho, who was outstanding in the first leg, Emre Can and Fullkrug were all unused substitutes on Saturday, but are set to start at the Parc des Princes.
Marco Reus may well have played his way into the first eleven after he scored one and made two against Augsburg the day after announcing he will depart the club in the summer.
There are question marks over the fitness of several BVB players with Julian Ryerson, Ramy Bensebaini, Sebastien Haller and Karim Adeyemi all rated as doubtful for the second leg.
PSG have scored in all five of their home games in the Champions League this season, hitting 10 goals.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in the competition so far in this campaign to be the joint-leading goalscorer along with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
In their run to the semi-finals, Dortmund have kept five clean sheets – the most by any team in the competition.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides in this season’s Champions League after they clashed in Group F. PSG beat Dortmund 2-0 at home and the second group game in Germany ended at 1-1.
PSG were unfortunate not to draw the first leg as they had more attempts than Dortmund overall and hit the post twice in the tension soaked encounter.
Luis Enrique’s side also enjoyed more ball possession last week and the quality of chances they created should have resulted in goals, especially with the normally reliable Mbappe up front.
If they manage to carve out similar openings in Paris, the hosts should do enough to overturn the deficit and progress.
Dortmund were also dangerous throughout the first leg, but with a lead to protect, they may adopt a more defensive strategy as they look to soak up pressure and then hit PSG on the break.
Ultimately, the Ligue 1 champions have to attack and will be after an early goal to first of all level the tie before going on to overpower BVB, so it would be no surprise to see them in front at the break and then at full-time.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
