For its most important match of the season against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Paris Saint-Germain is expected to field a very similar lineup to that of the first leg.
Paris Saint-Germain is facing a crucial moment in its history. Defeated in the first leg of the semi-finals (0-1) at the Signal Iduna Park, the Parisian club is obliged to win at Parc des Princes to overturn Borussia Dortmund and reach the second UEFA Champions League final in its history, which will take place on June 1st at Wembley.
However, to achieve this, the Parisians will already have to do without a key player: Lucas Hernández, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury to his left knee and will even miss Euro 2024 with the French national team. Luis Enrique was thus forced to reconsider his central defense and pair Lucas Beraldo alongside Marquinhos. The Brazilian had already replaced the French international after his injury in the first leg and is expected to retain his place, while Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes have unsurprisingly been retained on the wings. There were also doubts about the Parisian midfield, to accompany the indomitable Vitinha.
The same attacking trio as in the first leg
According to L’Équipe’s information, Luis Enrique tested two options, with Warren Zaire-Emery and Fabian Ruiz, and the other with Zaire-Emery and Ugarte, allowing Vitinha to play higher up the pitch. But the first option seems the most probable for now. Regarding the attack, there was a doubt between Bradley Barcola, who was already fielded in the first leg, and Gonçalo Ramos, who could take the center forward position and leave Kylian Mbappé on the left wing. However, it is the trio from the first leg that is likely to be fielded, with the former Lyon player and Ousmane Dembélé on the wings to accompany Mbappé.
On Dortmund’s side, Edin Terzic has decided to field the same eleven as in the first leg, with the central defensive pairing of Mats Hummels-Nico Schlotterbeck behind Gregor Kobel, Ryerson and Ian Maatsen on the flanks, a midfield trio with Marcel Sabitzer and Emre Can behind Julian Brandt and the dynamic duo of Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi on the wings to support Niclas Füllkrug. Marco Reus, Donyell Malen, and Sébastien Haller will start on the bench. The match will take place this Tuesday evening at 9 p.m.
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