PREVIEW: Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain travel to point-shy Athletic Club | OneFootball

San Mamés will hold host to Paris Saint-Germain’s next UEFA Champions League game in their pursuit of becoming the first club to retain the title since Real Madrid in 2018. They’ll take on an Athletic Club side languishing in 28th place with just four points from five games, and desperate to kick-start their European campaign.

Ernesto Valverde’s side have found it difficult in the Champions League this season. Last year’s Europa League semi-finalists are currently two points adrift of Pafos in 24th, and eight points behind Liverpool in eighth with only one win to their name in five games.

Athletic Club have time and time again impressed in the Europa League given their strict and unique club culture and means of operation; the Basque-only rule would have been seen by many as a limitation, but Los Leones have thrived. They’re still one of only three clubs – along with Barcelona and Real Madrid – to have never been relegated from LaLiga.

However, this season, things have been trickier. They have picked up just one win from their last five which has left the side in 28th place. The fixtures for Valverde don’t ease up either, and they face the current European champions and arguably the best side in the world in PSG.

Athletic Club do enter the game with a boost of confidence after earning a well battled 1-0 victory over Atlético Madrid last weekend which will have helped the side out massively as they prepare for the biggest test a side can face during this Champions League campaign.

The visitors travelling to beautiful Bilbao are the aforementioned PSG, who sit second in the Champions League table with four wins and one defeat in their opening five matches. Their only defeat came against a fantastic Bayern Munich side so there is little to suggest the Les Parisiens won’t compete massively in this season’s rendition of the competition. A caveat to their strong start is that PSG have been poor defensively and conceded eight goals in their five matches so far, including three to Spurs in a chaotic 5-3 match. They are the leading goal-scorers in this seasons competition, though, netting a sensational 19 times.

In what may come as a surprise to those not paying close attention to Ligue 1, PSG are not top of their domestic table: they currently sit one point behind Lens, but will come into the fray with confidence following a 5-0 victory over Rennes at the weekend. Luis Enrique will be demanding a further response from his side.

The hosts will be without the services of Aitor Paredes via suspension, as the defender picked up his third yellow card against Slavia Prague in the side’s last Champions League match. They’re also still without Yeray Álvarez, Beñat Prados, Unai Egiluz, Maroan Sannadi, Iñaki Williams and Aymeric Laporte. Valverde has plenty of issues when it comes to squad availability which may force him to be creative in his selection.

For their part, PSG are without Lucas Hernandez who will miss out due to suspension received during the game against Spurs during the last gameweek. Désiré Doué and Achraf Hakimi are both unavailable as they continue to recover from their longer-term injuries, and it may be too early for Nuno Mendes, Lucas Beraldo and Lucas Chevalier to feature, as all three are being assessed ahead of the side.

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé has yet to feature in the Champions League from the get-go this season but he may be deployed before the final whilst on Wednesday night.

The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the UK, and will kick off at 20:00 GMT.

Predicted line-ups