Champions League Semi-Final
Paris Saint Germain vs Manchester City
Venue : Parc des Princes
Date: April 28th (9pm GMT)
The controversial European Super League has ultimately failed due to a lack of support. The football world shunned the initiative in the dramatic hours after the announcement, with Parisians united from the start against the venture. However, Manchester City now has the stigma of being one of the so-called “dirty dozen” teams involved in the debacle. This makes for an exciting spectacle as the two team’s clash in their first Champions League semi-final.
The hosts themselves will be ecstatic at the prospect of a return to the Champions League final. Last year, the French team came close to winning the coveted trophy for the first time, only to stumble at the last hurdle, falling 0-1 to a determined Bayern Munich squad. This year they have looked sublime, annihilating Manchester United and İstanbul Başakşehir. A rout of Barcelona followed this in their away quarter-final, then a lightning-quick equaliser in their home draw. There’s no doubt that PSG deserves a lot of credit for their European performances this year. They will, however, have to fight for a place in the final as they face one of the most dangerous teams in Europe’s top-flight – Manchester City.
For a summary of current from of the two teams and head to head encounters, click on the match stats below:
[jsMatches id =”4006″ partic_id=”6077″ quantity=”1″ matchtype=”1″ emblems=”1″ venue=”1″ season=”1″ slider=”0″ layout=”1″ groupbymd=”1″ morder=”0″ display_name =”1″]The man who could decide the game is Neymar, the Brazilian striker – he has played 15,531 minutes on the pitch in 173 appearances and received 42 yellow cards in total. He has scored 121 goals in his professional career and contributed 67 times to a goal.
If you’re thinking of a wager on who will score for PSG, here are the top 10 PSG goal scorers for the season so far:
[jsPlayerStat id =”3992″ partic_id=”6077″ event=”5″ quantity=”10″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]For those looking for more exotic bets, here are the top red and yellow cards for PSG:
Red Cards
[jsPlayerStat id =”3992″ partic_id=”6077″ event=”10″ quantity=”5″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]Yellow Cards
[jsPlayerStat id =”3992″ partic_id=”6077″ event=”9″ quantity=”10″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]The man defending the goal for PSG is Keylor Navas – he has played 20,709 minutes on the pitch during his football career and collected 672 caps for Spain. He has collected 80 clean sheets, giving him 127 (50.55%) for his career and a 74.7% save percentage. The goalkeeper has stopped 902 shots in 232 appearances.
Manchester City desperately wants to earn an unprecedented prize for the club and are brimmingly hopeful that it will erase their recent P.R nightmare. Pep Guardiola’s boys will have to turn everything around, though, if they hope to get themselves in position. The Citizens have pretty much squeaked through to the semi-finals with a string of decidedly unimpressive performances. The notable exception was their 3-0 defeat of a lacklustre Marseille in the group stages. But, apart from that, City has not shone.
Ilkay Gundogan is set to give Manchester City a boost, scoring 66 goals and providing 42 assists in all competitions. The squad has scored more goals than any other team in the Premier League this season, with 44 compared to PSG’s 29. The German midfielder has scored 43 goals in 221 games. He has assisted 23 times and averaged 0.20 goals per 90 minutes. He collected 26 yellow cards and cautions in his professional career, averaging 1.5 goals and 2 assists per game.
For a flutter on who will find the back of the net for The Citizens, here are Man City’s season’s top goalscorers:
[jsPlayerStat id =”3988″ partic_id=”10980″ event=”5″ quantity=”10″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]Ederson is supposed to be Manchester City’s keeper and with a goal average of 1.01 this season he is just one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers.
For an exotic bet on who will be “naughty” on the Man City squad, here are the top red and Yellow Cards of the Citizens for the current season:
Red Cards
[jsPlayerStat id =”3988″ partic_id=”10980″ event=”10″ quantity=”5″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]Yellow Cards
[jsPlayerStat id =”3988″ partic_id=”10980″ event=”9″ quantity=”10″ photo=”1″ teamname=”1″ display_name =”1″ display_player_name =”2″]If you look at PSG’s chances against Man City, it’s true value. Man City are favourites at 12/10, the draw at 22/10 and PSG at an astounding 2-1. This is PSG we’re talking about – at home nonetheless!. It’s no proverbial “good thing”, but one doesn’t see high odds offered on this super team very often. In fact, these odds are tough for value seekers to resist. Either way, this promises to be a thrilling encounter.
