Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino will be able to call on Kylian Mbappe against Manchester City on Wednesday after the striker suffered an injury scare at the weekend.
Mbappe scored twice before hobbling off with a thigh problem towards the end of PSG’s Ligue 1 win at Metz on Saturday.
Marquinhos and Rafinha were absent for that match, but the duo – along with Mbappe – are set to be in contention after Pochettino confirmed only defender Juan Bernat and reserve goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier are out with injury.
“Bernat and Alex are out,” Pochettino told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg. “The rest are available. City are one of the greatest teams in the world. The best coach and of course it’s going to be tougher than Munich, we’ll see, we don’t know.
“We don’t know if it’ll be tougher or if we will win. What’s most important is the 180 minutes to decide to get to the final we have to be better. We are calm, we need to fight a lot to beat a really great team like Manchester City.”
Whether Mbappe is fit to start at the Parc des Princes remains unclear, but if the Frenchman is named on the bench then Mauro Icardi is likely to take his place up front.
Icardi started the last Ligue 1 match that Mbappe missed, although Moise Kean would also be a contender to start as the centre forward.
However, the chances are that if Mbappe is available, he will start, and the 22-year-old will likely be flanked by Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler with Neymar just behind. This quartet started both legs of the quarter-final victory over reigning champions Bayern Munich.
Behind them, three players are vying for the two defensive midfield roles, with Idrissa Gueye the most likely starter while Leandro Paredes and Danilo Pereira battle for the other spot.
Pereira dropped to centre-back in Marquinhos’ absence for the second leg at Bayern, but with PSG’s captain having recovered from an adductor issue, Pereira could well get the nod ahead of Paredes in midfield.
Marquinhos’ return will see him potentially partner Presnel Kimpembe in central defence, while Layvin Kurzawa and Alessandro Florenzi could feature at left-back and right-back respectively after overcoming recent injury problems.
PSG are aiming to reach their second straight final and, having enacted revenge over last year’s winners Bayern in the last round, Neymar admits their focus is on the collective rather than any potential individual award that he or Mbappe may pick up.
Neymar said: “Our main objective is the Champions League, not the Ballon d’Or, that’s not my main priority. I want to be a leader for my team, to win. In the future, I will need to remember that I’ve managed to win this Champions League. As for Mbappe, he’s a great player, all I wish for him is he can be successful.”
Predicted PSG XI (with Mbappe): Navas, Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Gueye, Pereira, Neymar, Di Maria, Mbappe, Draxler
Predicted PSG XI (without Mbappe): Navas, Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Gueye, Pereira, Neymar, Di Maria, Icardi, Draxler
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3npAbd3
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