After a delicate group stage at the end of 2023, PSG enters the elimination phase of the Champions League, hosting Real Sociedad on Wednesday February 14 for the round of 16 first leg (at 9 p.m. ). A match already decisive for the Parisian club which still dreams of its first coronation in this competition.
Facing Luis Enrique’s men, a Basque team which was one of the great revelations of the first phase by finishing at the top of its group ahead of Inter Milan, but which has since weakened in La Liga.
The favorite PSG
Even if it has not passed a knockout round in the Champions League since 2021, Paris Saint-Germain is the favorite. The Basque club, whose last round of 16 dates back to 2003-04, is very inexperienced at this level. PSG is, moreover, in very good form and remains in 16 matches in a row without losing in all competitions. But he has not won any of his last three European matches and qualified very laboriously for the eighth.
Mbappé back
Hit in the ankle last Wednesday against Brest (3-1) in the Coupe de France, Kylian Mbappé was spared against Lille this weekend (3-1). The captain of the Blues is available for this Champions League match, where his complicity with Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé could be useful. “He is in good shape to play, he will have a great match”, assured his teammate Fabian Ruiz at a press conference. Conversely, Paris is still deprived of its defenders Milan Skriniar, Nuno Mendes and Presnel Kimpembe, who have been injured for a long time.
La Real down
Brilliant first in a tough group during the C1 group stage, Real Sociedad has meanwhile weakened. THE Txuri-Urdin are seventh in La Liga, 11 points from the qualifying places for the Champions League. Worse, they haven’t scored in four games. This period of slump coincided with the absences of offensive stars Mikel Oyarzabal and Takefusa Kubo, both in the group to face PSG. On the bench during the last two matches, the Franco-Spanish Robin Le Normand is applying for a starting place.