Paris Saint-Germain take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 over two legs with the first leg taking place on February 14, 2023 at the Parc des Princes and the return leg in Munich on March 9.
The Parisiens are still in search of Champions League glory having built a formidable squad over the past few years. However, their star player Kylian Mbappe will miss the first leg due to injury.
In Bayern Munich, they take on serial winners of this tournament in a mouth watering clash. However, the Bavarians will be without their leader in goal, Manuel Neuer.
Here’s our analysis of who are the best players to look out for in this epic clash and the XI both sides will field on the night:
Lionel Messi:
At the top of our list of players who we think will have a huge impact in the round of 16 clash between PSG and Bayern Munich is Lionel Messi.
With Kylian Mbappe out injured, Messi will have to add an extra bit of genius to his game to decode a tricky Bayern defence.
With the likes of Neymar, Vitinha and Ruiz by his side in the PSG front four, we can see Messi take up more of a lead role in targeting Sommer in Bayern’s goal.
Joao Cancelo:
Newly signed from Manchester City in January, Joao Cancelo has already settled in well at Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese right-back made an impact just 14 minutes into his Bayern Munich debut as he provided an assist to hand the Bavarians the lead against Mainz in a DFB Cup game.
Cancelo will be marking Neymar on the right and with physicality on his side, it won’t be a surprise to see him win that duel.
Neymar:
As usual, Neymar has been in scintillating form in Ligue 1 for PSG. The Brazilian maestro has come up with 10 goals and 12 assists in 18 league games for the team.
In the group stage of the Champions League, Neymar was one of the best performing players across the board with two goals and three assists in the five games he played.
Against Bayern, the talented winger will go head-to-head with the best in the business in the form of Joao Cancelo and we’re looking forward to this mouth-watering clash. Cancelo has a tendency to be more of an attacking full-back and that could leave Neymar with space in key areas to make an impact for PSG.
Thomas Muller:
In almost every game that Muller plays well, Bayern go on and win, that’s the kind of impact the German forward has on this team.
Muller has come up with eight assists in 20 games in all competitions this season and more than his stats, his presence of mind on the field is what hands Bayern an added advantage.
Muller links up well with Bayern’s midfield and connects the dots between their full-backs and forwards in multiple attacking sequences. PSG have to be alert or else Muller will punish them.
Jamal Musiala:
A player who has seen tremendous rise in performance and stature this season is Jamal Musiala.
The Bayern academy graduate has scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists in 27 games in all competitions this season.
Primarily an attacking midfielder, Musiala is very versatile and can slot in as a winger whenever needed. The German star will mostly be man-marked by PSG and that could hand his team an advantage in terms of space creation and attacking options.
PSG predicted XI:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Ramos, Marquinhos, Mendes; Verratti, Danilo, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha; Messi, Neymar
Injury: Mbappe, Mukiele, Renato Sanches
Bayern Munich predicted XI:
Sommer; Cancelo, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies, Musiala, Kimmich, Goretzka, Sane, Muller, Coman
Injury: Mazraoui, Mane, Hernandez, Neuer
Which players from each team will miss the second leg if they get a yellow card in this game?
PSG: Sergio Ramos, Marco Verratti
Bayern Munich: Joshua Kimmich
