It has long been said that the “Holy Grail” for Paris Saint-Germain is winning the Champions League, and yet this season it seems further away than ever before.
Despite years of heavy investment by the club’s Qatari owners – and the best efforts of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – the trophy has never landed in the French capital.
A new approach focusing on homegrown players hasn’t really worked and Luis Enrique’s side head into tomorrow night’s home game against Manchester City in 25th place in the extended table. If they finish there after the eighth matchday, they will be eliminated from the competition and the wait would drag on for another year.
A look at the two remaining games shows that this is certainly possible.
First and foremost is a City team who appear to be back on the right track after a miserable run of form before Christmas. The English champions are in 22nd place and need wins themselves to secure a place in the playoffs. Their 6-0 win over Ipswich at the weekend and, perhaps just as importantly, the swagger they showed at Portman Road suggested that Pep Guardiola has found a solution and they should finish the season strong.
After City comes a trip to a Stuttgart team that sits fourth in the Bundesliga and will likely be fighting for points.
PSG vs Manchester City team news
PSG defender Marquinhos could return after groin problems and Ousmane Dembele is fit again after illness.
New signing Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia is not eligible to play.
Nathan Ake missed the weekend game against Ipswich due to injury and his availability is unknown. Ruben Dias is back, but John Stones remains out.
Kyle Walker is currently negotiating a move from Etihad, meaning Matheus Nunes could start at right-back again.
