'No team better than us': Luis Enrique backing PSG for Champions League glory

Luis Enrique believes Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League semi-final first leg with Bayern Munich will see Europe's top two teams collide, in a battle he is confident of winning.

MATCH PREDICTION: PSG WIN

PSG and Bayern have faced each other 15 times in the Champions League, and nine times across the last nine campaigns. Since the start of the 2017-18 edition, only Real Madrid against Manchester City has been played more times in the competition (13) than this fixture (nine).

And it is the Bundesliga side who have the better of this rivalry. They have won each of their last five games against PSG in the Champions League, including one earlier this season (2-1 last November). This is already the longest winning streak a team has achieved against the Parisiens in major European competition (five).

Kompany has won both of his Champions League meetings with Luis Enrique's PSG. If Bayern win here, the Belgian coach will have the most victories of any manager against Luis Enrique in the competition (three).

However, PSG have scored 2+ goals in each of their last eight knockout stage games in the Champions League, the joint-longest run in the competition's history. The only other team to do so in eight in a row was Barcelona between April 2015 and April 2016, who were also managed by Luis Enrique.

With a victory here, Luis Enrique would become the fastest to 50 wins of any manager in Champions League history (currently 49 wins in 76 games). The current record is held by Pep Guardiola, who achieved his 50th victory in his 80th game (Bayern Munich 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb in December 2015).

But as previously mentioned, PSG have struggled against Bayern in Europe. They have lost 60% of their games against them in the Champions League (9/15 – W6), with this their highest loss percentage against any opponent they have faced 3+ times in the competition. 

And you can expect goals at the Parc des Princes. PSG and Bayern are the joint-top scorers in the Champions League this season (38 goals), as well as having the two highest goals per game averages (3.2 for Bayern and 2.7 for PSG). 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

PSG – 41.1%

Draw – 24.3%

Bayern Munich – 34.6%