Two of Europe’s biggest clubs will face off at the Parc de Princes on Tuesday (November 4) as Luis Enrique’s champions face Vincent Kompany’s seemingly unbeatable Bayern Munich in the new look league phase.
PSG were undeniably the best side in the world when they won club football’s biggest competition last season, since then, the never-ending number of games appear to have caught up with them.
Their crown is in danger of slipping, and Bayern Munich look best placed to take advantage.
The Harry Kane factor
PSG have Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, but fitness issues have stopped him from carrying the form that won him that award this time around, while Harry Kane continues to age like a fine Dunkel.
The England international is probably the best player in the world at the moment, already bagging 25 goals in his 20 games across all competitions so far this season, including five in three in the Champions League.
Kane barely broke a sweat last time out against Club Brugge, and the same could be said of the game before that vs Pafos FC, but everything he touches turns into goals, with his five goals come from just nine shots on target.
Bayern legend Lothar Matthaus would seem to agree, highlighting that PSG just don’t have an individual player that can take the game by the scruff of the neck and make magic happen.
In his Sky Sport column, he said: “Paris Saint-Germain will be the next test. On Tuesday, two top European teams will face each other. Both have high quality in their squads, but Paris doesn't have a Kane, a (Michael) Olise, a (Joshua) Kimmich, or a (Manuel) Neuer.”
Newly crowned Golden Boy Desire Doue is out until the end of the month with a thigh injury, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola are yet to really get going this season. PSG’s best chance of getting anything from this game will come from midfield stars Vitinha and Joao Neves.
A well-oiled defensive machine
Not only are Kompany’s side on fire in front of goal, but they’re also so hard to break down. In the Bundesliga, they’ve only conceded four goals across their nine games and already have a goal difference of +29.
It’s a similar story in the Champions League, only conceding two, one fewer than PSG. Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano are a remarkably solid central defensive duo and have only been dribbled past a combined six times in the Bundesliga.
Bayern dominate games so their tacking numbers aren’t insane, making 16 between them domestically so it’s their passing numbers that stand out. Upamecano has completed 497 at a success rate of 93.2%, while Tah has 516 at a success rate of 95.9.
Just in front of them they have arguably the best midfield partnership across Europe in Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic, who both sit deep, allowing fullbacks
Konrad Laimer and Raphaël Guerreiro to push further up and provide an attacking threat.
PSG do give up chances, having already conceded nine Ligue 1 goals, including three in one game against Strasbourg. None of Willian Pacho, Ilya Zabarnyi, or Marquinhos are particularly good in the air, while Tah and Upamecano head everything that comes their way.
Verdict
Reaching the Club World Cup and the lack of pre-season have certainly played a role in PSG looking less unbeatable than they did last season, while Bayern Munich are only getting better under Kompany, despite a frustrating transfer window.
The huge caveat is that the Bundesliga isn’t exactly the most competitive league, but wins build momentum, and the Bavarian giants look unstoppable.