UEFA Champions League preview: Istanbul Basaksehir vs Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain will be aiming to get their first points of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League campaign when they face Istanbul Basaksehir on the road on Wednesday night.

Les Parisiens started the current season in a dismal fashion with back-to-back league defeats where they were missing a number of players due to injuries or COVID-19 infections.

They have, however, returned to normalcy with six victories from the next six matches and are currently at the top of the French top-flight with a better goal difference over Lille.

In the Champions League, however, they succumbed to a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United in the opening group stage game last week where they lacked the cutting edge in the final third.

They are scheduled to face Turkish champions Basaksehir on the road tomorrow and Thomas Tuchel will be hoping that his team can put up a strong display and come up with all three points.

Basaksehir have been in a poor run of form in the Super Lig and they have picked up just seven points from the opening six games. They are already nine points adrift of surprise leaders Alanyaspor.

Similar to Les Parisiens, they succumbed to a defeat in the Champions League group stage opener. RB Leipzig beat them 2-0 at the Red Bull Arena after a quick-fire first-half brace from Angelino.

Team News:

Basaksehir won’t have the services of Junior Caicara, who is out for the long-term with an Achilles tendon rupture. Elsewhere, former Tottenham Hotspur star Nacer Chadli is the other major absentee for the Super Lig champions. The Belgium international has been sidelined since early September with an unknown injury.

Paris Saint-Germain have had injuries to contend with right from the start of the campaign. Juan Bernat is out for the long-term with a cruciate knee ligament damage. Elsewhere, Julian Draxler (hamstring), Mauro Icardi (knee ligament), Leandro Paredes (knock), Marco Verratti (muscular) will miss the contest.

Predicted Lineups:

Istanbul Basaksehir (4-3-3): Mert Gunok; Rafael, Martin Skrtel, Alexandru Epureanu, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo; Mehmet Topal, Irfan Kahveci, Berkay Ozkan; Edin Visca, Demba Ba, Deniz Turuc

Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Alessandro Florenzi, Abdou Diallo, Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa; Ander Herrera, Marquinhos, Rafinha; Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar

Predicted Score:

Basaksehir have several experienced players in their ranks such Martin Skrtel, Rafael and Demba Ba, who have excelled for Premier League teams in the past. Still, last season’s Champions League runners-up have the superior quality across the field when compared to the hosts (with due respect) and anything less than a comfortable win would come as a surprise.

Istanbul Basaksehir 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Stats from Transfermarkt.com