Paris Saint-Germain vs PSV Eindhoven

Parc des Princes sets the stage for a handsomely-looking UEFA Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and PSV Eindhoven.

Paris Saint-Germain maintained a near-flawless start to their Ligue 1 title defense with a 4-2 home triumph against Strasbourg at the weekend (W6, D2), leapfrogging Monaco at the table’s summit, albeit on goal difference alone. Back to the Champions League, where they’ve registered partial success after the opening two rounds (W1, L1), Luis Enrique’s men seek redemption for a 2-0 loss at Arsenal last time out. A narrow 1-0 home triumph against Girona on matchday one fortified PSG’s intimidating record of only one defeat across their last 37 home outings in the competition’s group/league phase (W29, D7). It’s also worth noting that ‘Les Parisiens’ have found the net in their 26 most recent such fixtures, with their last scoring blank dating back to October 2015 against Real Madrid.

In the meantime, PSV Eindhoven protected their 100% Eredivisie record this season with a 2-1 away win against fierce rivals AZ Alkmaar, making it nine wins out of nine at the beginning of their title defense. However, Peter Bosz’s men have stuttered in Europe. After a 3-1 defeat at Juventus in round one, they held Sporting CP to a commendable 1-1 home draw before the international break. Any hopes of getting off the mark look bleak, considering only two of PSV’s last 18 European visits to French clubs have yielded victories (D9, L7). Indeed, you’d need to go back to September 2006 for their most recent triumph on French soil. Equally abysmal is their record of just one win across their last 18 away matches in the Champions League proper (D5, L12).