Champions League Semifinal Preview 4-28-21

Paris Saint-Germain v. Manchester City

PSG have impressed on their road to the Semifinals. The Parisians defeated the reigning UCL champions, Bayern Munich, in the quarterfinal with a strong showing of offensive firepower. The leading frontmen for PSG, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr., shined bright with stunning goals and assists. Tonight, however, those two will go up a formidable Manchester City defense which is anchored by a strong centre back pair in Ruben Dias and John Stones. PSG will roll out with their favorable 4-2-3-1 formation which will be balanced across the pitch with a preference toward playing with speed on the counter attack. Manchester City enters the Semifinals fresh off convincing legs in both the Quarterfinals and Round of 16 where they easily dispatched German opponents. Manchester City also enters this match fresh off a trophy after they defeated Tottenham 1-0 this weeked to win the Carabao/League Cup. City is arguably the best club football team in the world and they are favorites to win this competition as well as the Premier League. Their manager, Pep Guardiola, is one of the greatest managers of all time and has been able to win games this season without an established center forward. Tonight, Man City will deploy a rather strange 4-3-1-2 formation instead of their typical 4-3-3. The “2” up front are Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez, who typically play as wingers and not strikers. Guardiola is known for being a tactician, and with a new formation, Man City could be trying something different, perhaps a more defensive minded approach to slow down PSG’s clinical attack. Regardless, I believe both teams will find a way to goal tonight, they are too skilled at every inch of the pitch not to bag one for their respective sides. 

The Bet: Both Teams to Score

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Manchester City