With a 2-0 lead to protect at Parc des Princes, the hosts are strong favourites but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not going to give anything up
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is adamant that it is not ‘mission impossible’ for his side as they travel to Parc des Princes to tackle Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Red Devils trail 2-0 from the first leg, in which Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe notched second-half goals to give the Ligue 1 champions a strong grip on the tie.
However, United will have taken heart from Ajax’s stunning turnaround against Real Madrid and will seek to complete a similarly scintillating comeback on enemy soil.
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 4K UHD. It can be streamed on BT Sport Live.
Squads & Team News
Neymar continues to sit out for PSG, who are otherwise only missing Stanley N’Soki.
Edinson Cavani was back training with the squad as of Tuesday but is drastically short of match fitness, and though he may take up a station on the bench, it would be surprising if he were to play a significant role.
Juan Bernat, Julian Draxler, Thilo Kehrer and Marco Verratti are all one booking away from a suspension.
They are expected to name the team that played at Old Trafford.
Possible PSG starting XI: Buffon; Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Verratti, Marquinhos; Dani Alves, Draxler, Di Maria; Mbappe
Manchester United have struck an injury crisis at the worst possible time and travel to France without 10 first-team players.
Alexis Sanchez is the latest victim of the plague, with the Chile international set to miss up to eight weeks.
Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Anthony Martial are also missing.
Paul Pogba is banned after being dismissed late in the first leg.
Ashley Young is one booking away from a ban.
Possible Man Utd starting XI: De Gea; Young, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw; Pereira, McTominay, Fred; Dalot, Lukaku, Rashford
Betting & Match Odds
PSG are strong 4/9 favourites to win this match with Bet365. Manchester United can be backed at 13/2, while the draw is priced at 4/1.
Match Preview
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still carries hope that his side can progress through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
As they travel to face Paris Saint-Germain, the odds are stacked against the Red Devils. Not only are they chasing a 2-0 deficit, having been comprehensively outplayed at Old Trafford, they are also in the grip of one of the worst injury epidemics their club has seen in years.
And on top of that, they will be without the rejuvenated Paul Pogba, who is banned after clashing with Dani Alves late in the first leg three weeks ago.
The Norwegian, however, remains optimistic that his side can complete a staggering comeback.
“Never... never mission impossible,” he said on Tuesday. “It is a difficult test, but we can do it. We need the first goal and we need to stay in the game. Anything can happen. We need a good plan.
“Everyone knows we can do it, we’ve done it. Last year Juventus lost 3-0 to Real Madrid and then went 3-0 up in second-leg, PSG vs Barcelona [in 2017]. There are so many examples of teams who can change results like this.”
PSG are the only side to have beaten United since Solskjaer took temporary charge of the club following the exit of Jose Mourinho in December and head coach Thomas Tuchel is wary of the threat that they still pose.
“We have to be confident, but not too confident. Anything can happen,” he explained.
“It's always possible for Manchester United to score the first goal. We must be ready to react if that's the case. We must not lose our energy and be prepared for all scenarios.”
The Parisians have a formidable home record under the German, with 18 wins and only one defeat from the 20 matches they have played at Parc des Princes.
Indeed, no-one has beaten them by the two-goal margin that the Red Devils require if they are to progress – but even that does not seem to have troubled Solskjaer’s unshakable optimism.