The clash of the penultimate day of the Champions League between PSG and Manchester City, Wednesday January 22 at the Parc des Princes, promises to be explosive. Both teams will simply play part of their European future.
When reading the calendar, at the end of August, observers saw this PSG-Manchester City as a decisive poster for a place in the top 8, condition sine qua non to qualify directly for the round of 16. But this shock of the seventh and penultimate day of the Champions League promises to be much hotter than expected.
>> Relive the Champions League evening
Wednesday January 22, at the Parc des Princes, it will simply be a question of survival. For PSG, this knife-edge finish was expected after the first five days which had seen the capital club take only four points out of 15 possible. But Manchester City, 17th before this sixth day, decided to join Paris in this stress of the final straight thanks to a 2-0 defeat on the pitch of Juventus Turin, this Wednesday evening. A third poor performance in a row after the defeat against Sporting on November 5 (4-1) and the draw against Feyenoord on November 26 (3-3 after leading 3-0).
Two direct competitors for a place in the top 24
As a result, Pep Guardiola's men, who had seven points after three days, are now on the edge of the precipice. 22nd in the standings this Wednesday evening, the Skyblues are tied with Dinamo Zagreb, 24th and last qualified for the play-offs (a sort of round of 16), while PSG is 25th and virtually eliminated from this Champions League, but with only one point behind the Citizens.
The match on January 22 will therefore see two direct competitors clash for a place in the top 24, with very strong pressure on the team that loses this clash. A defeat would not, however, mean elimination for the two teams, who will still have an eighth and final day to try to make up for it. Wednesday January 29, Manchester City will host Bruges at the Etihad Stadium. At the same time, PSG will travel to Stuttgart, currently 26th… and another contender for a place in this famous top 24.
The ranking of this Champions League after six days
- 22. Manchester City, 8 pts (+4)
- 23. PSV Eindhoven, 8 pts (+2)
- 24. Dinamo Zagreb, 8 pts (-5)
- 25. PSG, 7 pts (0)
- 26. Stuttgart, 7 pts (-3)
NB: teams ranked 9th to 24th qualify for the play-offs
PSG's schedule for the last two days:
- Wednesday January 22 (9 p.m.): Manchester City reception
- Wednesday January 29 (9 p.m.): trip to Stuttgart
Manchester City's schedule for the last two days
- Wednesday January 22 (9 p.m.): trip to PSG
- Wednesday January 29 (9 p.m.): reception in Bruges
