Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain: Line-ups, stats and preview

Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow night in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Read our in-depth preview here...

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Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

Match Preview for Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain will look to banish the memory of their surprise Ligue 1 setback on Friday night when they visit Arsenal tomorrow night.

PSG’s hopes of going through the domestic league season unbeaten came to an end when, despite a dominant performance, they lost 3-1 at home to Nice.

Luis Enrique’s men had 32 attempts on goal but could only find a way past Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka once when Fabian Ruiz scored.

It was a surprising defeat given Luis Enrique named a strong side, and the one close to the XI likely to feature at the Emirates.

Asked afterwards if the result had changed his mindset before the first leg of their semi-final in North London, the Spaniard said: β€œBased on what I saw, I’m signing up straight away for Tuesday in London and the return leg.

β€œNot for the result, obviously, but I saw a team that had 30 chances to score. I’m not worried at all. We attacked, didn’t calculate, and we came up against a goalkeeperΒ who made some incredible saves.

β€œWe are the best team in France, by far, we proved it. We have to be brave now and think about winning the Champions League.

β€œRight now, the players are clearly affected. We deserved to win, no doubt about it. But if the opponent is 100 per cent efficient and you’re not as efficient as usual, things turn around. It’s as simple as that.”

PSG are outsiders to take a lead back to the French capital but can take encouragement from Arsenal’s struggles against Crystal Palace in their last Premier League fixture.

Palace rested several star players ahead of their FA Cup semi-final at the weekend and still emerged with a 2-2 draw as Arsenal failed to find their usual fluency.

Mikel Arteta’s men remain unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions, however, and were outstanding in both legs against title holders Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, winning 3-0 at home and 2-1 in Spain.

It was a coming-of-age performance for Arsenal and a repeat display against PSG could see them claim the first-leg advantage they crave.

Team News for Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

Arteta will have to shuffle things in midfield with Thomas Partey suspended following his booking at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It may mean Mikel Merino, who has been operating in a number nine role, drops back with Leandro Trossard coming into the starting XI.

Jorginho would have come into the equation but the Italian is unlikely to be fit due to a rib injury.

Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jeusus remain sidelined but Riccardo Calafiori may be fit.

Luis Enrique has one dilemma to solve: whether to play Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola on the left side of a three-man attack? Both men have performed well in the Champions League this season but it may be Barcola gets the nod.

Predicted line-ups for Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Paris Saint-Germain: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, Barcola

How to watch Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain: TV and online streams

Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night. It can be watched on Amazon Prime and can be streamed on the Prime Video app.

Stats for Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

  • Arsenal beat PSG 2-0 in a league phase game earlier this season thanks to goals from Havertz and Bukayo Saka
  • At least one first half goal has been scored in each of PSG’s last 7 away games
  • There has been a penalty in 58% of Arsenal’s Champions League games this season
  • Arsenal have scored the opening goal of the game in their last 9 games

Prediction for Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

You can get PSG at 5/2 with some bookmakers ahead of this game which seems very tempting.

Although Luis Enrique’s men have won just one of their last four in all competitions, we fancy them to edge this one.

Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain

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Picture of Jon Fisher

Jon Fisher

Jon has over 20 years' experience in sports journalism having worked at the Press Association, Goal and Stats Perform, covering three World Cups, an Olympics and numerous other major sporting events.

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