Match Preview

The Champions League makes its long awaited return this season for Real Madrid on Wednesday. Los Blancos will make the trip to the Parc des Princes to take on PSG. These two clubs met back in 2018, where Real eliminated the Parisians in the Round of 16.

There’s quite a few notable footnotes to this match besides the return of the Champions League. Eden Hazard is set to make his first start of the season for Real Madrid after making a recovery from injury.

Real are also set to face former goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who will likely start in between the pipes for PSG. It’ll be bittersweet, but Real must be able to get the ball past a keeper who served the club so well.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid will be without Marcelo due to a neck injury. They are also still missing Isco, Modric, Valverde and of course Asensio.

While Real have announced their traveling squad, PSG has yet to do so. PSG are going to be thin up front since they will likely be without both Cavani and Mbappe due to injury. They are also likely going to be without Julian Draxler and Thilo Kehrer.

There are several suspensions for this match for both clubs. For Real Madrid, both Sergio Ramos and Nacho are serving suspensions. On the PSG side, Neymar is serving the first of a three-match suspension.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Militão, Mendy; James, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Hazard, Benzema

PSG

Navas; Meunier, Silva, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Verratti, Marquinhos, Gueye, Sarabia; Di Maria, Icardi

Prediction

Real Madrid—Paris Saint-Germain 2-2

PSG are going to be thin without the deadly attacking trio of Cavani, Mbappe and Neymar that they are accustomed to. That being said, Icardi and Di Maria are still well capable enough to pick up some of that goalscoring slack with those three likely missing.

Real have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, with the quality of this deep PSG squad it shouldn’t really expected to be different on Wednesday. Real will have their own attacking trio, which should be able to help them put some goals past a top keeper in Navas.

Both of these clubs are the toughest competition in a group that includes Club Brugge and Galatasaray. While both of those clubs could also pull of an upset, PSG and Real are the teams to beat in Group A.

It’s great to see the European competition return this season and there’s much excitement in a big match like this already kicking it off.