PSG prepare for clash with Struggling Tottenham

Paris Saint-Germain tonight take on Tottenham for the second time this season, having earlier faced them in the early season showpiece Super Cup game, which saw the English side take a surprise lead, before PSG pegged them back and eventually beat them on penalties.

Tonight’s game, at the Parc des Princes, is not expected to be as hard fought, as the two sides come into the encounter in drastically contrasting form. The Parisians are fresh off the back of a comfortable win against Le Havre, and despite missing a number of key starters through injury, have increasingly started displaying the same panache that saw them win the treble last season.

As for Tottenham, their good start to the season under new head coach Thomas Frank has rapidly soured, with this weekend’s defeat to their biggest rivals in the North London derby being the apotheosis of their misfortune so far.

PSG set for clash against a Spurs side in turmoil

It will be the first time that PSG ever face Tottenham in the Champions League, although the Parisians are more than used to encountering Premier League opponents, having knocked out Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal en route to winning the Champions League last season, and also losing to Chelsea in this summer’s Club World Cup final. Luis Enrique, speaking before the game, was adamant that his team was prepared to face the physicality of English sides, and pointed out the success that his side has had in such fixtures last season.

PSG currently sit 7th in the Champions League table, although a win tonight could see them rise as high as second, depending on other results. The Parisians were victorious in their first three games in Europe this season, but lost at home to Bayern Munich in their last tie, a result that they will hope to bounce back from tonight. As for their opponents, they are 12th in the table, having won two and drawn two so far (a strong European start that perhaps belies their patchy domestic form).

Some long awaited good news on the injury front for the Parisians sees Ousmane Dembélé return from his latest setback. He looks set to be included in tonight’s squad (although it is unlikely that he will start). Desiré Doué and Achraf Hakimi are still out on the other hand, as Warren Zaire Emery will look set to continue playing in the right back role in Hakimi’s absence.

Tonight will also mark a return to the Park des Princes for Randal Kolo Muani, who enjoyed a mixed year and a half in the French capital, eventually going out on loan before his permanent transfer to Spurs over the summer. The Frenchman has had no impact at Tottenham, failing to score in any of his nine appearances so far, but PSG fans will hope that a return to his old stadium will not see him too fired up. Xavi Simons, also newly of Spurs, is another ex PSG player, although he played far fewer games in the Parisian shirt than Kolo Muani did, only ever making eleven first team appearances for the club. Tonight also represents a big game for him, as he also has struggled to make an impact in England so far.