Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs. RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

Paris Saint-Germain will hope to secure their second consecutive victory in the Champions League when they welcome RB Leipzig to the Parc des Princes for Tuesday's Group A battle.

Mauricio Pochettino's side marched to a 2-0 win over Manchester City in their most recent European contest, while the German side fell to a dampening defeat against Club Brugge.

Match preview

© Reuters

Lionel Messi's first goal in navy blue was certainly worth the wait, as the six-time Ballon d'Or winner netted a stunning second for his side against Man City last month, with PSG gleaning a measure of revenge for their semi-final exit last year.

After Idrissa Gueye had crashed in a thunderous opener of his own with eight minutes played, Messi combined expertly with Kylian Mbappe in the second half before unleashing an unstoppable effort past Ederson to hand PSG their first European win of the campaign and send them top of the group.

Les Parisiens were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Club Brugge on matchday one but prepare for battle with Leipzig having claimed a 2-1 win over Ligue 1 high-flyers Angers on Friday, with Danilo Pereira and a late Mbappe penalty cancelling out Angelo Fulgini's opener.

PSG's performances may still be coming under scrutiny as they sit pretty atop the Ligue 1 rankings, but with 10 wins from 12 in all competitions this term, Pochettino's side firmly have the look of contenders for continental glory in the Champions League.

The hosts also boast a perfect home record of six wins from six Parc des Princes encounters this term - scoring at least two goals each time - and only one of their last 28 group-stage games at home has ended in defeat.

© Reuters

While Christopher Nkunku provided another bright spark in Leipzig's Champions League encounter with Club Brugge, the Bundesliga outfit's joy would end there, as Marsch oversaw another disappointing early-season defeat on home soil on matchday two.

Nkunku took five minutes to break the deadlock after his hat-trick against Man City on matchday one, but the Belgian champions replied through Hans Vanaken and Mats Rits before the half-time whistle blew to leave Leipzig rooted to the bottom of the rankings in Group A.

Leipzig's fortunes have hardly improved in the Bundesliga either, as Jesse Marsch's side were held to a 1-1 draw away to Freiburg on Saturday afternoon, with Emil Forsberg's first-half penalty cancelled out by Woo-yeong Jeong's strike on the 64-minute mark.

With only three wins to boast from their last 10 games in all tournaments, life after Julian Nagelsmann has been as difficult as many would have feared for Leipzig, who are also on a five-game winless run away from home since beating Sandhausen in the DFB-Pokal back in August.

Leipzig did manage to beat PSG 2-1 at home in the group stage last season, but Les Parisiens put things right with a 1-0 success on home soil a couple of weeks later, while the first meeting between the two clubs in the 2019-20 semi-finals ended in a comprehensive 3-0 win for the French side.

Team News

© Reuters

Angel Di Maria serves the final game of his lengthy European suspension this week, while Sergio Ramos, Neymar and Leandro Paredes will play no part due to injury and Mauro Icardi is doubtful due to personal problems.

Pochettino was forced to work with a depleted squad for the win over Angers due to late returns from international duty, but the likes of Messi and Marquinhos are set to return here.

Juan Bernat made his first appearance since September 2020 on Friday as he came off the bench for the final 30 minutes against Angers, but Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi are likely to start in the full-back areas this week.

Kevin Kampl and Nordi Mukiele were both fit to take part for Leipzig against Freiburg, but Dani Olmo (thigh) and Marcel Halstenberg (ankle) are set to miss out once more.

On a brighter note, Angelino is back from a ban and could challenge for a spot at left-back, while Mukiele and Konrad Laimer will both hope to earn recalls to the first XI as well.

Former PSG youngster Nkunku is only second to Sebastien Haller in Champions League goals this season, and the 23-year-old will seek to become the first man to score in three successive games in the competition for Leipzig.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Verratti, Gueye, Herrera; Messi, Mbappe, Draxler

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Simakan, Orban; Mukiele, Laimer, Kampl, Angelino; Nkunku, Forsberg; Poulsen

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 RB Leipzig

With Nkunku on song and determined to get one over his former club, Leipzig have no woes on the attacking front to contend with, but the odd consolation goal may be where the visitors' joy ends.

PSG's South American stars will be well-rested and will need no second invitation to pile more misery on Leipzig, so we are backing Pochettino's side to get the job done convincingly.