Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League exile is rapidly coming to an end as they take on Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev tomorrow night at the Parc des Princes
The wait is over
Finally, after eight long years, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain’s home, Parc des Princes will be captivated by the Champions League music. For long, the PSG fans hoped for their beloved side to be back alongside la crème de la crème of European football.
Now, the wait is almost over as Carlo Ancelotti’s expensively-assembled squad will play host to Dynamo Kiev in their first group game of this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Not only are PSG back among Europe’s elite, they come into this season’s edition as genuine title contenders and will be a serious threat to any team that has been deemed pre-tournament favourite. For almost 18 years, the club envisaged to be at the pinnacle
of European football. First it was Canal Plus, who wanted to take the club to the next level.
However, after a few years of promise, nothing materialised. But now, the club has found owners who have pockets and ambitions deep enough to make PSG a real powerhouse. After spending almost 150 million euros on new recruits this summer, PSG are indeed
serious about what they are dreaming of.
These days, it’s hard to lure the best talent to a club but PSG, thanks to Leonardo’s vast networking talent, managed to secure the services of the likes of Javier Pastore, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Silva-c34903 and Marco Verratti.
One thing that should be noted is that by spending so much money on new players, PSG have significantly weakened their rivals. Milan for instance, seem a shadow of their former selves after losing out on the services of Ibrahimovic and Silva – two men who
can considerably strengthen any side with their presence.
However, spending money lavishly is not the ingredient for success in Europe, a fact that Manchester City would attest. Despite signing so many good players, the Citizens failed to make it past the group stages of the Champions League last season.
Playing in Europe is definitely not an easy task so PSG will need to be wary of the competition they fact in a group that also has the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 and Dinamo Zagreb. Although the latter has been tipped as the whipping boys of the competition, matches
are not won on paper including the one that happens tomorrow night.
European experience
Kiev are currently third in the Ukrainian Premier League and chase bitter rivals Shakhtar Donetsk by six points. However, despite being uncharacteristically sluggish in the league, Bilo-Syni have more experience of playing in the Champions League than PSG.
Yuri Semin’s men have a lot of talent at their disposal and their formation will be similar to PSG’s Christmas tree formation. It is likely that former Ligue 1 striker Ideye Brown will play as a lone striker. The 23-year-old Nigerian has already scored eight
goals this season. The former Sochaux man is indeed a handful so PSG defence will have to be alert throughout the game.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Niko-Kranjcar-c27926, who finally secured a move away from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, will be looking to provide Brown with the right service.
Yarmolenko-Harmash
However, the main player to watch out for would certainly be http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Andriy-Shevchenko-c6014. The youngster
impressed for the national side at the Euros this summer and will definitely pair up well with another youngster in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Denys-Harmash-c10945.
Tall and lanky just like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Pastore-c18082, the 22-year-old has shown signs of promise and could use Champions league as a platform to take his game to the next level.
Team news
Paris Saint-Germain
Thiago Silva, the club’s record signing, is set to make his PSG debut and is likely to pair up with fellow countryman http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mamadou-Sakho-c23293 has been in of late. Gregory Van der Wiel is also set to start for the Ile giants and captain
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christophe-Jallet-c9179 is likely to be pushed into midfield.
Dynamo Kiev
Despite a stamina-sapping start to the domestic league, Kiev are likely to have a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Predictions
After a long time, PSG fans would be hoping to see their side put on a good show against a team that has some really exciting youngsters. The presence of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva may be the difference in a game that could turn out to be an open one.
Predicted final score: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
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