Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain prepare to lock horns for a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, albeit the Parisians may be without several key players for their crunch clash in Madrid. PSG have one foot in the last 8 after Kylian Mbappé struck late in the Round of 16 first leg, however the French superstar is doubtful to be involved in the return leg on Wednesday evening.
Kylian Mbappe is a doubt for PSG’s Champions League match against Real Madrid after taking a knock in training 😬 pic.twitter.com/xZg4YhIUq0
— GOAL (@goal) March 7, 2022
Mbappé was injured on Monday after PSG teammate Idrissa Gueye trudged on the 23-year-old’s left foot during training. Mbappé has been named in the traveling squad to Madrid and he will be further assessed later on Tuesday, before a decision is made on whether the attacker will be a part of Mauricio Pochettino’s matchday squad in the Spanish capital.
Achraf Hakimi is doubtful for selection against his former club after the Moroccan full-back picked up a thigh injury towards the end of February. Ex-Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos is confirmed to miss the trip to the Santiago Bernabéu, with the 36-year-old defender struggling to recover from a calf injury. Ramos has made just five appearances for PSG since leaving Madrid on a free transfer last summer.
The Parisians also have potential suspension headaches. The quartet of Presnel Kimpembe, Danilo Pereira, Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes are all at risk of missing PSG’s next European fixture through suspension.
‘Los Blancos’ also have a handful of absentees with Casemiro and Ferland Mendy both suspended for the second leg. Toni Kroos returned to training on Monday and is in contention to feature after overcoming a minor muscular problem. Éder Militão could miss Madrid’s next UCL match if booked on Wednesday.
The impending clash will be the seventh meeting between these two teams in Europe’s elite club competition. Madrid have claimed three wins against their French opponents, while PSG triumphed over Real for just the second time in their recent first leg encounter.
Karim Benzema has been Madrid’s most prominent source of goals this season. The French forward has bagged five goals in the Champions League, in addition to a league-high 20 goals in La Liga. For PSG, Mbappé has the most direct goal involvements (14 goals + 10 assists) in the French top-flight, and he & Lionel Messi have netted five goals apiece in the Champions League.
Both teams continue to lead the way in their respective domestic leagues. Madrid hold an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga, meanwhile PSG have a comfortable 13-point gap between them and 2nd-placed Nice in Ligue 1.
Only one of these teams can go through to the quarter-finals, and the football world is braced for a clash of the titans at the Bernabéu. The second leg between Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Wednesday.
All for PSG….