PSG vs Man City: Champions League preview, team news, stats, kick-off time

Team news and stats ahead of PSG vs Man City in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm.

Team news

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Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who suffered a knock against Southampton earlier this month, will not be fit before the next international break. Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is City's only other notable absentee with a calf problem.

Pep Guardiola was boosted by the return of Aymeric Laporte and Rodri at Chelsea following their respective injuries and must decide on whether to manage their minutes ahead of the Liverpool clash at the weekend.

John Stones was back among the substitutes bench at Stamford Bridge and could be in line to feature in the French capital. Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling came on late against Chelsea and will be pushing for starts.

Lionel Messi is expected to play for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday after taking part in a training session.

The Argentine forward missed two Ligue 1 games with a bruised knee but did not appear to be struggling with the injury on Monday morning.

"We will confirm the starting 11 tomorrow," coach Mauricio Pochettino told a news conference when asked about Messi ahead of the Group A clash at the Parc des Princes. "But I think he will be in the squad tomorrow."

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• Champions League fixtures | Results | Group tables
• Man City fixtures

Pochettino added that Messi, who joined the French club on a two-year contract from Barcelona, would need time to adjust in Paris.

"He did 20 years in Barcelona, it's normal he felt at home there and here, everything is new for him. He did not arrive a long time ago," the Argentine said.

Pochettino also confirmed that Marco Verratti would probably be involved after the Italy midfielder missed four games with a knee injury.

How to follow

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Follow live updates on SkySports.com and the Sky Sports App from 6.30pm on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm. Also follow second half and reaction on Gillette Soccer Special live on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm.

Opposition in focus

Entertaining City on Tuesday evening, PSG's first Champions League home match since signing Lionel Messi sees them face the side who knocked them out of last season's competition in the semi-finals.

The 2019-20 runners-up opened their Group A games being held to a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge two weeks ago - domestically, Mauricio Pochettino's men have won eight out of eight so far as the club look to regain the Ligue 1 trophy they were pipped to last term by Lille.

Opta stats

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• Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City will meet for the sixth time in this game, while the French side are still looking for their first win in this fixture (D2 L3). Only against Juventus (8) have Paris Saint-Germain played more games in European competition without winning.
• Paris Saint-Germain have failed to keep a clean sheet in all four of their meetings with Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League - only against AC Milan have they played as many games without managing a clean sheet in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (also four).
• Including two defeats to Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League last season, Paris Saint-Germain have lost four of their last five games against English sides in the competition (W1). Indeed, the French side have lost each of their last three games when hosting English opponents (v Manchester United in 2019 and 2020, v Manchester City in 2021).
• Paris Saint-Germain were held by Club Brugge on MD1, extending their winless run in the UEFA Champions League to four games (D1 L3). The last time they failed to win their opening two games of a campaign in this competition was back in 2004-05, losing 0-3 to Chelsea and 0-2 v CSKA Moscow.
• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 10 away games in the UEFA Champions League (W8 D2), while they haven't lost an away game in the competition outside of England since December 2017 (1-2 v Shakhtar Donetsk).
• Paris Saint-Germain are winless in their last three home games in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L2), with the most recent one being a defeat to Manchester City last season. All three of those have come in the knockout stages of the competition, however, while they've only lost one of their last 27 home games in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League (W21 D5).
• Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi has scored six goals in four UEFA Champions League games against teams managed by Pep Guardiola (four against Manchester City and two against Bayern Munich) - the most of any player in the competition against the current Manchester City boss.

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