Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Sociedad are set to trade tackles at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Despite resting numerous first-team stars, including standout forward Kylian Mbappe, PSG boss Luis Enrique oversaw a 3-1 comeback win against Lille at the weekend. The Spanish manager needs all hands on deck if ‘Les Parisiens’ are to make it out of the opening Champions League knockout round for only the sixth time in their last eight continental campaigns! Ominously for the record-time Ligue 1 champions, three of their five eliminations in that stretch came against Spanish clubs. Therefore, securing a first-leg advantage is imperative for a PSG side, whose 72-game home form in European action paints a colorful picture (W46, D19, L7). Worryingly, though, five of those seven defeats have come across their last 22 outings at the Parc des Princes. However, unbeaten on home turf since September (W11, D2), they’ll take the field in a buoyant mood.

The same can’t be said about visiting Real Sociedad after a disheartening 1-0 home defeat to fellow La Liga rivals Osasuna at the weekend condemned them to a fourth consecutive match without scoring (D3, L1). Sociedad’s scoring woes threaten to compromise their chances in their first foray into the Champions League knockouts in 20 years. Indeed, after 394 minutes without a goal, Imanol Alguacil’s men will rely on their rock-solid backline to increase their chances of staging an upset in Paris. Sociedad conceded a competition-low two goals during the Champions League group stages and had tallied three successive clean sheets before the abovementioned loss to Osasuna. Topically, the Basque heavyweights have yet to concede a goal away from home in the Champions League this term!