Champions League Final: Bayern- PSG team preview, prediction and latest news

The final match between Bayern Munich and PSG, which is in Lisbon on Sunday night at 8 PM, is considered the most balanced and amazing match over the past ten years.

August 24, 2020 | 00:06

	Champions League 2020: Bayern to face PSG in Final following an easy 3-0 win over Lyon
	Champions League 2020: PSG cruises to Final with a smooth 3-0, most hightlights scences
	Champions League Preview: Manchester City vs. Lyon lineups, scores after Barca shrunk 2-8 by Bayern

Paris Saint-Germain earned their spot after beating Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and RB Leipzig in the knock-outs and they have looked gradually more dangerous and free-flowing over the past couple of weeks, Independent reported.

Bayern Munich have been a real machine, rolling past Chelsea either side of lockdown, obliterating Barcelona in the quarters and easing past Lyon in the semi-finals.

The game will air live on BT Sport 1 HD, BT Sport 1 Extra and BT Sport Ultimate, with coverage beginning at 7pm BST.

Team news?

According to The Independent, PSG are likely to be without first-choice goalkeeper Keylor Navas, struggling with a muscle injury. Marco Verratti is back and boss Thomas Tuchel faces a key decision over whether to start him or not after just a few minutes of action in the semis.

Jerome Boateng is the only injury worry for Bayern after he came off in the semi-final. Niklas Sule could replace him after making his way back to full fitness, though he hasn’t yet started a match. Joshua Kimmich could revert to midfield if Hansi Flick opts to start Benjamin Pavard at right-back after he also returned from injury.

PSG & Bayern Munich’s previous line-ups:

PSG (vs RB Leipzig): Rico; Kehrer, Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Marquinhos, Herrera, Paredes; Di María, Neymar, Mbappé.

Bayern Munich (vs Lyon): Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng*, Alaba; Goretzka, Thiago; Gnabry, Müller, Perisic; Lewandowski.

According to Quarka, Marco Verratti says he’s ready to play the full 90 minutes but it remains to be seen whether Tuchel agrees with his metronomic deep-lying playmaker. Layvin Kurzawa, who just returned to first-team training, is a doubt alongside Keylor Navas and Idrissa Gueye.

Jérome Boateng is a fitness concern for Bayern Munich after picking up a knock in their semi-final win over Lyon while Benjamin Pavard was declared fit during Hansi Flick’s pre-match press conference and, according to one Twitter rumour, could start in midfield in place of Thiago.

As suggested by tweeter, former Norway international turned journalist Jan Age Fjortoft, it is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Thiago won much praise in his semi-final performance and this will be his last competitive game with Bayern.

Writing for the Sunday Times, former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney said of him: “[Thiago] almost came to United in 2013 and now Liverpool are linked with him.

“He’s one of the best midfielders around – I just hope he doesn’t go there.

“He can take the ball, be composed on it, keep things ticking over – and he’ll put his foot in. He’s an all-round midfielder, really, with a bit of everything.

“He backs up that Bayern press and he drops in between the centre halves to take the ball yet can also join in when they’re playing around the other box too.

“He’s a great player. It would be great to see him in the Premier League, actually.”

Players to watch:

PSG: For a team full of marquee names, it’s the least spoken about who could decide the contest in PSG’s favour. Neymar and Kylian Mbappé are match-winners in their own right, both capable of taking a game away from the opposition, but in Portugal and this season’s tournament overall, they’ve enjoyed the backseat seeing others around them step up to the plate.

This distribution of responsibility is the basis behind the Parisians finally achieving their potential in world football’s premier club competition. Having experienced winners helps, and PSG have one in the guise of Ángel Di María, who was 2014 final’s Man of the Match in 2014 when Real Madrid won their 10th European Cup, a longtime obsession of Los Blancos that was termed La Decima.

The Argentine winger is also on course to be named Champions League ‘assist king’ after creating no fewer than six goals, only Thomas Müller (23) and Joshua Kimmich (27) — who’ll be starting the final — have created more chances than him (20).

Between Madrid and Paris in Di Maria’s career path is Manchester United. There, he lasted just one, disappointing season but clearly left an impression on one of his teammates.

The club’s all-time top-scorer, Rooney, believes “PSG’s match-winner might just be Di Maria.”

He added: “He’s a wonderful player. When he came to United, I remember Louis van Gaal saying to the team: ‘He is the only one who is allowed to dribble with the ball.’

“Angel works tirelessly on the pitch and his delivery, vision and awareness is brilliant.

“He could have been a major star at United but at the time we were going through a bit of a transition and it was tough for him to settle.

“He had young kids and lived a couple of houses down from me and someone tried to burgle him. I remember that really shook him and his family.

“From then on, really, you knew it was going to be tough for him and it was probably better for him to leave.”

Bayern Munich: It’s been a season to remember for Canadian full-back Alphonso Davies who, despite being just 19 years old, can lay claim to being world football’s preeminent left-back. If that sounds hyperbolic then it shouldn’t as he’s playing well beyond his years.

Davies’ athleticism coupled with natural exuberance makes him a presence at both ends of the pitch. A key battle in the Lisbon final is the one between him and Mbappé. Both are lightning-fast and will give it as good as they get. Mbappé normally has the full-back he’s up against on toast, but this could be a different experience for him, as no defender has completed more take-ons (26) in this season’s Champions League than Bayern’s latest teenage sensation.Odds

PSG: 9/4

Inter: 16/5

Bayern: 27/25

Prediction

For all the attacking talent on show, this game could be won and lost depending on who has the best out-of-possession control in midfield, with both sides absolutely devastating on the counter-attack. Both teams will fancy their chances of outscoring the other if they create chances, so the most clinical edge could win the day.

PSG 1-2 Bayern

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