PSG vs Athletic Club: Will San Mamés prove a challenge for the European Champions?

Going into their sixth round of fixtures in this season’s Champions League group phase, it is fair to say that PSG and their upcoming opponents Athletic Club have had fairly contrasting fortunes this season so far in their European journeys. PSG, despite a singular slip up at home to Bayern Munich, have been mostly dominant, and remain 4th in the Champions League table, with a win tonight surely all but guaranteeing them a place in the knockouts without having to play a qualifying playoff.

Could San Mamés' atmosphere derail PSG's good run of form?

Athletic Club, on the other hand, have had a far more mixed start to their campaign, with disappointing heavy defeats to Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle casting further clouds over what has only been a mixed season domestically, leaving them 28th in the Champions League standings, well outside of qualification places.

Stars such as Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet, both of whom attracted so many suitors after their scintillating performances last season, have failed to set the world alight in their Champions League encounters so far this season. Fans of the side from the Basque Country will hope that these players will be able to finally stamp their authority on a big European night tonight.

Interestingly, PSG and Athletic Club have never met in the Champions League before, with tonight being a first in that sense, but have played each other fourteen years ago in the Europa League, having been drawn in the same Europa League group in the 2011-12 season. That was the season of Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s takeover of the French giants and PSG’s teamsheet the last time the two sides met contains some now almost unrecognisable names, such as Siaka Tiéné, Sylvain Armand and Jean-Christopher Bahebeck.

It’s fair to say that tonight’s lineup, however Luis Enrique chooses it, will contain a fair few more recognisable names. In fairness, PSG did win that encounter back in December 2012 4-2 (Javier Pastore and Mathieu Bodmer among the scorers) although they had lost their return game at San Mamés 2-0 earlier that season. Another bizarre factoid from that encounter: Athletic Club were captained in both legs of that tie by current Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who made more than 406 appearances in La Liga only for the Basque country side, operating as a right-back.

Previewing the game yesterday, Luis Enrique acknowledged that PSG’s status as European Champions has somewhat increased the motivation that other teams have to beat them – but said that it should become normal, and even a source of motivation, for his players. He did admit, however, that this extra motivation for opponents has affected his way of preparing matches this season.

He also pointed out how hostile the atmosphere can be at the San Mamés, and underlined that he had warned his players already about the difficulties of playing at the stadium: the PSG players would be foolish to take this game for granted, despite Athletic Club’s inconsistent recent form.