PSG face Benfica, can put qualification at touching distance

While it won’t be possible until next week at the earliest, Paris Saint-Germain will enter tonight’s matchup against Benfica with a clear goal in mind: earn 3 more points to virtually secure their presence in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

PSG will play away from home at Benfica’s Estádio da Luz tonight with both teams boasting a perfect two-win record in the European competition and still undefeated in their respective leagues. The French have won eight of their nine games and drew the other in Ligue 1 while the Portuguese sit atop the table with seven victories and just one draw in their campaign.

After Matchdays 1 and 2, PSG and Benfica enter tonight’s game with 6 points each in Group H of the Champions League; Juventus and Maccabi Haifa have yet to earn their first point in the competition.

In other words, whoever wins tonight in Portugal will be in a very favorable position through the three return-leg matches before the World Cup break.

After deploying a rotated side that featured Fabian Ruiz, Juan Bernat, Nordi Mukiele, and Hugo Ekitike against OGC Nice last weekend, PSG’s coach Christophe Galtier will have all of his main weapons available and ready to start against Benfica tonight.

Most important will be the return of Marco Verratti, who picked up a knock prior to last weekend’s game against Nice and has been recovering for the past two weeks taking advantage of the last international break of the calendar year.

“Marco has 90 minutes [of availability] in his legs,” said Galtier when asked about Verratti’s current status, adding “he is ready and he does not have any physical problem.” The coach also clarified “[Verratti] didn’t play this weekend because he was suspended,” making it clear he would have done so had he not been forced to miss out on that game because of the suspension.

While Paris has been pretty much unstoppable this season, the truth is that the dominance the Parisians showcased for the first competitive month of competition has dwindled each passing week and more than ever of late.

The French finished their game against Juventus with a 2-1 result, could only put one goal past Brest and Lyon in recent Ligue 1 games, had to come from behind against Maccabi Haifa to end up beating them 3-1 and last weekend had to labor to their victory against Nice needing the help of a then-substitute Kylian Mbappe.

With Le Classique against Olympique de Marseille scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 16, and two games against Benfica between today and next Tuesday, Paris Saint-Germain would do well to solve their Champions League group-stage affairs as soon as possible in order to prepare for the Ligue 1 clash against their main title rivals.

OM defeated Sporting CP on Tuesday after recovering from a first-minute goal by the Portuguese. Ultimately, Olympique demolished the Iberians by a final 4-1 scoreline. The trouncing marked Marseille’s first win in the Champions League this season although OM is sitting second in the French domestic league, only 2 points behind PSG and without having lost a game yet.

Sergio Ramos and Danilo are expected to flank captain Marquinhos in PSG’s three-man defense with Hakimi and Nuno Mendes on the wing-back corridors. Verratti should start in the middle of the park along with Vitinha, while the magnificent trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe are expected to get the call on the forward line with the latter starting once more after missing out in PSG’s last XI this past weekend but proving key to earn his side the 3 points.

Projected PSG Starting XI: Donnarumma;  Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo; Hakimi, Verratti, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes; Messi, Mbappe, Neymar