Paris Saint-Germain welcome Borussia Dortmund to Parc des Princes in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, as they look to salvage their first-leg loss to qualify for their second-ever Champions League finals.
Everything went wrong for the French Champions in the first leg tie at the Signal Iduna Park: from losing key defender, Lucas Hernandez to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, to hitting the woodwork twice, and Ousmane Dembele missing opening chances against his former club and Killian Mbappe being shut down at the left-hand side from posing any threat.
Luis Enrique’s side were made to pay for their subpar performance in the opening quarter of the match as Niclas Füllkrug’s 36th-minute strike sent the Yellow Wall at the Westfalenstadion into ruptures.
Les Parisiens came out of the second half with more intent and creating much better scoring opportunities, but Dortmund had the clearer chances and could have scored more if it wasn’t for the heroics of Gianluigi Donnarumma in the post.
Füllkrug’s goal ended up being the only goal in a match that saw 34 attempts between the two teams.
With a week without domestic football, the 12-time Ligue 1 Champions are gearing up to qualify for their first semifinal since 2020 but will have to overcome the hurdle of overturning the 1:0 deficit.
On the other hand, Die Borussen will be hoping to capitalise on PSG’s defensive frailties to add more misery to the French side or rely on their resolute defending to scupper the efforts of the French Champions’ prolific attack.
It will take more than just sitting back in a low-block to stop Enrique’s side from netting in 25 consecutive matches at the Parc des Princes. Hence, Dortmund will need to exhibit attacking intent in some phases of the game and will need to be more clinical than they were in the first leg.
This attacking intent were visible last weekend when they pummeled Dortmund 5:1 at home. Surely, more goals will guarantee them a spot in the showdown at Wembley to mark their first final since the clash against Bayern Munich in 2013.
They head into this game in strong form, keeping the most clean sheets in the competition(5) since the 2018-19 season. While they’re solid at the back, they’re also prolific in attack as they’ve only failed to find the back of the net in one of their previous 17 matches.
PSG Vs Dortmund match details
- Date: Tuesday, 7 May, 2024
- Location: Paris, France
- Venue: Parc des Princes
- Kick-off time: 8:00 PM BST, 9:00 PM CET, 7:00 PM UTC, 3:00 PM. ET
- Referee: Daniele Orsato
- Assistant referees: Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini
- Fourth official: Davide Massa
- VAR: Massimiliano Irrati
- Assistant VAR: Paolo Valeri
- Tickets: Supporters can buy tickets for PSG vs Dortmund via an online ticket marketplace or through the official club websites.
Match stats and head-to-head
• Enrique’s side have scored at least one goal in 24 matches played at home across all competitions this season. The last time they failed to score at home came in the 0:0 draw with Lorient in August 2023.
• Les Parisiens have failed to score in just two of their last 38 UEFA Champions League matches at the Parc des Princes, scoring 93 goals in that run.
• Terzic’s side are unbeaten in their last two matches against PSG, drawing 1:1 in the group stages and recording a 1:0 win in the first leg.
• Kylian Mbappe’s eight UEFA Champions League goals this season are the most by any player in the competition this campaign. His eight goals also means the Frenchman has equalled his best goal return in a single UEFA Champions League campaign since netting eight in the 2020-21 season.
• The match on Tuesday would mean these two sides have met eight times since, with either side winning twice and sharing three draws.
• Jason Sancho has completed the most number of dribbles(22) than any player in this season’s Champions League knockout stages. The on-loan Manchester United winger completed 13 of his dribbles against PSG— the most by any player at this stage of this competition since Neymar Jr, who completed 15 dribbles for PSG against Atalanta in August 2020.
• Dortmund have neither won nor found the back of the net in any of their three matches played at Parc des Princes in the UEFA Champions League.
• Die Borussen kept their fifth clean sheet against PSG last week, the most by any team in this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign.
• If PSG secures a win over Dortmund, they could become the first side in the UEFA Champions League to lose both the first leg of the quarter-finals and semi-finals and still progress to the next round.
• The French champions have conceded the opening goal in their last matches in the competition, their longest streak since going behind four times in the 2014-15 campaign.
Team News
Enrique will be without Hernandez who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the first-leg clash with Dortmund. The 28-year-old has been ruled out of the season and potentially the year, as he is set to also miss the Euro with France.
Presnel Kimpembe remains sidelined with an Achilles injury while Layvin Kurzawa joins the injury list with a back injury.
Goalkeeper, Sergio Rico is stepping up his recovery from a head injury while Lucas Beraldo is expected to be fit to replace the injured Hernandez at centre-back.
Dortmund’s right back, Julian Ryerson is a doubt for the match after suffering cramps in the first-leg tie against PSG. The Norway International did not also feature in Dortmund’s weekend clash against Augsburg and is in a tight race to be fit for this fixture.
Terzic’s side will be without Ramy Bensebaini and Julien Duranville with knee and muscle injuries respectively while Sebastian Haller is gradually nearing a return and could feature in this match if declared fit.
Dortmund were boosted by the return of Donyell Malen to the starting lineup in the 5:1 win over Augsburg with the Dutchman marking his return with a goal.
In a major blow for Die Borussen, Karim Adeyemi suffered a knock in the clash against Augsburg. However, Germany International is expected to shake off the knock for the trip to the French capital.
Predicted starting lineup
PSG predicted starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe.
Dortmund predicted starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi; Fullkrug.
Prediction
Two teams battling for a place in the showdown at Wembley on 1 June, will engage in an intense battle, and a high-level tactical masterclass are expected when these two sides meet on Tuesday night.
Dortmund may not pay much attention to their abysmal record in France, where they have failed to win or score against the French Champions when playing away from home, instead, Terzic is expected to utilise a compact defensive block while using the lightning speed of Adeyemi and Sancho to hit PSG on the counter.
Enrique’s side are expected to dominate this game and will put in a much better performance from their first-leg tie, but their defensive frailties could be their undoing as Dortmund will be set to capitalise on it. Hence, this clash will be decided by the team that scores more goals.
We’re predicting a 2:2 draw.
