Subs: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Dembele, Asensio, Hernandez, Mayulu, Zaire Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Zague, Tape.
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Manchester City: Ederson, Matheus Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Silva, Kovacic, Foden, De Bruyne, Savio, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Carson, Stones, Grealish, Gundogan, Wright, Alleyne, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
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Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
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What a game this is. The new format was designed to make the first stage of the Champions League more exciting, and while we can’t yet decisively judge if this has been a better idea than keeping the ol’ group stages until the league phase reaches its conclusion, 2024-25 certainly has provided plenty of shocks, and created more jeopardy for the so-called bigger teams, particularly because said teams are meeting earlier in the competition.
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With PSG in 26th out of 36 teams and Manchester City 24th with just two games left in the league phase, both teams have already said goodbye to their chances of automatic qualification (the top eight) to the last 16. If one team loses tonight, there is also a possibility that they might not even make the play-off round (finishing in the top 24 after eight games). If PSG and City draw tonight and results go against them, we could end up in the situation where neither side make it to a play-off. But there is plenty of football yet to be played before that.
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| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 7 | 13 | 21 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 7 | 15 | 18 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 7 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | Atalanta | 7 | 14 | 14 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 6 | 9 | 13 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 7 | Inter Milan | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 7 | 5 | 13 |
| 9 | Brest | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 10 | Monaco | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| 11 | Lille | 7 | 2 | 13 |
| 12 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 13 | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| 14 | Juventus | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| 15 | AC Milan | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 16 | PSV | 7 | 3 | 11 |
| 17 | Club Brugge | 7 | -2 | 11 |
| 18 | Benfica | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| 19 | Sporting | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| 20 | Feyenoord | 6 | -1 | 10 |
| 21 | Stuttgart | 7 | -1 | 10 |
| 22 | Real Madrid | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| 23 | Celtic | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 24 | Man City | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | -5 | 8 |
| 26 | PSG | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 27 | Bologna | 7 | -5 | 5 |
| 28 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | -8 | 4 |
| 29 | Sparta Prague | 6 | -11 | 4 |
| 30 | Girona | 6 | -6 | 3 |
| 31 | Red Star Belgrade | 7 | -10 | 3 |
| 32 | Sturm Graz | 7 | -10 | 3 |
| 33 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | -15 | 3 |
| 34 | RB Leipzig | 6 | -7 | 0 |
| 35 | Slovan Bratislava | 7 | -18 | 0 |
| 36 | Young Boys | 6 | -19 | 0 |
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Neither manager is under any illusions about the precarity of the situation. “I don’t know how many points we will need [from the final two games]” City manager Josep Guardiola said this week. “The six points are mathematically [sure]but maybe four, maybe three. ”
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Of course, this is just one of nine Champions League games to be played tonight. RB Leipzig vs. Sporting and Shakhtar vs. Brest are all on track, with the other six games (below) kicking off at 8pm GST. You can track six of these with Simon Burnton's Clock Watch.
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milan v girona
\nArsenal v Dinamo Zagreb
\n Celtic v Young Boys
\n Feyenoord v Bayern
\n Real Madrid v RB Salzburg
\n Sparta Prague v Internazionale
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This kickoff is at 8pm Japan timeteams are scheduled for 7 p.m.
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Please join us. please.
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main events
our clock is livecovering the following matches, which also kick off at 8pm GMT.
milan v girona
Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb
celtic v young boys
feyenoord v bayern
Real Madrid v RB Salzburg
Sparta Prague v Internazionale
Much of Manchester City's focus is on Erling Haaland continues to be under pressure ahead of this match after news broke last week of a record-breaking nine-and-a-half-year contract.
City also spent big on two young defenders this month. Guardiola's team tonight will have neither Vitor Reis nor Abdukkodir Kusanov.
Omar Marmouche is expected to make an even bigger move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Let's break down these teams a little.
PSG lined up in a 4-3-3, a more defensive formation than the one they used against Lens at the weekend. Warren Zaire-Emery, who started this game, will not be included in the eleven. Ousmane Dembele, who is completely absent from the team, will return to the bench.
Manchester City lined up in a traditional 4-2-3-1, then morphed into a 4-3-3 and back again. Sabinho is brought on as Jeremy Doku knocks. Gundogan will be replaced by Bernardo Silva. John Stones has returned to the squad after a month out injured, while Rodri is on the road recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Kyle Walker is not in the squad as he aims to join Milan permanently.
Dear team!
PSG: Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Vicinha, Neves, Fabian, Lea, Due, Barcola.
Sub: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Gonzalo Ramos, Dembele, Asensio, Hernandez, Mayur, Zaire Emery, Lucas Berardo, Zag, Tape.
Manchester City: Ederson, Matheus Nunez, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Silva, Kovacic, Foden, De Bruyne, Savio, Haaland.
Sub: Ortega, Carson, Stones, Grealish, Gundogan, Wright, Alleyne, O'Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
I have to mention Bresta surprise team at this league stage, currently losing 2-0 away to Shakhtar in one of the early kick-offs. Halftime there. Perhaps the French side may have to settle for the play-offs rather than the top eight.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig lead Sporting 1-0. The Portuguese side continues to struggle after Ruben Amorim left for Manchester United, the Portuguese side continues to struggle after the departure of Erik ten Hag, who struggled at Old Trafford… you get the point. Probably.
Fabian RuizWho decided the winner in PSG comes from behind to win 2-1 against Reims If scheduled for the weekend, one of the two players who will miss PSG's next (and final) league phase game is Nuno Mendes, the other being Nuno Mendes. The Portuguese wing-back is very important to Luis Enrique and they use a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 formation, so from PSG's point of view he will be left out of the referee's decision tonight. It is important that
If you are not followingPSG are doing quite well domestically, winning six of their last seven games in all competitions, including important league wins against Lyon, Monaco and Reims. This means the Parisians are nine points behind second-placed Marseille with just over half of the season completed.
However, the Champions League was a completely different story. Victories against Girona and Salzburg were overshadowed by defeats against Arsenal, Atlético and Bayern, and a home draw against PSV. They are the lowest placed French team in the competition in terms of distance, with Brest, Monaco and Lille in 9th, 10th and 11th place respectively. This was a great preview article by Rafael Zhukovan outlining how well this season's Ligue 1 teams have fared in the Champions League, aside from PSG.
preamble
What a game this is! The new format is designed to make the first stage of the Champions League more exciting, and it remains to be seen whether this is a better idea than keeping the traditional group stage until 2024, when the league phase ends. Cannot be determined definitively. The 25-year-old figure certainly created a lot of shock and posed more danger for the so-called bigger teams, especially since those teams would be playing against each other earlier in the competition.
PSG are 26th out of 36 teams and Manchester City are 24th with two league games remaining, with both teams already bidding farewell to their chances of automatically qualifying for the last 16 (top eight). . If either team loses tonight, there's a chance they won't even make the playoff round (they'll finish in the top 24 after eight games). If PSG and City draw tonight, and the result goes against them, neither team could find themselves in a situation where they cannot make the play-offs. But there's still a lot of football to be played before that.
Neither manager has any illusions about the danger of the situation. “I don't know how many points I'll need.” [from the final two games]” City manager Josep Guardiola said this week. “The six points are mathematically [sure]but maybe four, maybe three. ”
Of course, this is just one of nine Champions League games to be played tonight. RB Leipzig vs. Sporting and Shakhtar vs. Brest are all on track, with the other six games (below) kicking off at 8pm GST. You can track six of these with Simon Burnton's Clock Watch.
milan v girona
Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb
celtic v young boys
feyenoord v bayern
Real Madrid v RB Salzburg
Sparta Prague v Internazionale
This kickoff is at 8pm Japan timeteams are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Please join us. please.
