On Wednesday night, big-spending French giants PSG host Champions League royalty Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes, as both teams look to get their Group A campaigns off to a flying start.
PSG (Odds of 6/5 for victory)
PSG are desperate to make an impression on the Champions League once again. The Parisians have failed to make it past the round of 16 for the last three seasons after three straight quarter-final appearances.
The French club will hope to make it to the latter stages of the competition this time around, though. The fact they are in the same group as the visitors will make topping the group even harder this season.
Thomas Tuchel’s side has made a decent start to their Ligue One campaign, winning four of their first five matches, while sitting top of the French table.
The home side will need to continue that decent form in Europe’s elite competition, as they have a rather inconsistent record of late in the Champions League. A 3-1 home defeat by Manchester United in the first knockout stage did end a three-game winning run for the Parisians though.
PSG are the favourites to see off the Spanish giants. A home win would be a signal of intent from the French team.
Key player
The likely absence of Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani through injury, suspension of Neymar only enhances the importance of on-loan Argentinian striker Marco Icardi to the Parisians hopes of victory. The forward has headed to the French capital for a fresh start and could make a big impact in this clash.
Real Madrid (Odds of 11/5 for victory)
The Spanish giants have made an inconsistent start to the new Spanish campaign so far this season, although Zinedine Zidane’s team are unbeaten in their first four La Liga games of the season.
The club from the Spanish capital has specialised in the Champions League in recent years. In fact, they have won the European Cup on a record 13 occasions. However, last season Los Blancos suffered a shock exit at the first knockout stage last season against surprise-package Ajax.
The Spanish giant’s recent record in Europe’s elite competition is inconsistent, as they have won four and lost three of their last seven matches in the Champions League.
Despite a recent patchy run of results in the competition, Los Blancos have been formidable on their travels, winning seven of their last eight away games, while scoring at least two goals in each of the victories.
Key Player
French forward Karim Benzema is much-maligned in the capital. However, the former Lyon star has made a good start to the season scoring four times in as many league outings, including a brace last time out in a 3-2 win over Levante.
[reviewTableLarge ids=”620,639,642″ title=”Best betting sites to place bet on this game are:”]Prediction
In reality, this clash could go either way. However, despite Real Madrid’s stellar recent away form in the Champions League, we fancy the home win in this clash at odds of 6/5. The over 3.5 goals scored looks tempting at odds of 6/5, as both teams have a tendency to be involved in high-scoring matches.
Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 6/5 and/or over 3.5 goals scored at odds of 6/4 (All odds from Bet365).
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Who will come out on top in Wednesday’s biggest Champions League clash?
