On the eve of facing Tottenham on 19:00(UTC) Wednesday 13 August at the Stadio Friuli in Udine in the European Super Cup final, we take a look at Paris Saint-Germain's first major challenge of the season. From the teams' form to the dynamics and players to watch, here's an overview of the European clash that awaits our Rouge et Bleu against a Spurs side in transition.
A battle of European champions
After excelling in the group stage of last season's Europa League, the Londoners knocked out AZ Alkmaar in the round of 16, before pulling off a big scalp by eliminating another of the competition's heavyweights, Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1, 0-1). In the next round, Spurs lived up to their status as favourites against Bodø/Glimt, the surprise guests in the semi-finals and the team that knocked out Lazio. Thanks to two wins against the two-time Norwegian champions (3-1, 0-2), the north London club reached the final and, after a hard-fought all English affair, claimed their third Europa League/UEFA Cup title (1-0).
As for Paris Saint-Germain, their journey was full of twists and turns. Les Rouge et Bleu, who had to go through the play-offs and defeat an outmatched Brest side (0-3, 7-0), caused a sensation in the round of 16 by securing a historic qualification on penalties against Liverpool at Anfield (0-1, 0-1). This was the prelude to an English-themed run for our Parisians, who defeated Aston Villa in the next round after going through all the emotions (3-1, 3-2). The capital club then surprised Arsenal by beating the Gunners on their home turf (0-1), before winning in a red-hot Parc des Princes (2-1). The rest, as they say, is European history: after a perfect performance, Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Inter Milan and added the Champions League to their impressive list of honours (5-0).
The dynamics in numbers
1: Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other for the first time in official competition.
8: Tottenham is the eighth different English team to participate in the UEFA Super Cup, while Paris is the only French team to compete for this trophy (two appearances, in 1997 and 2025).
36: Ousmane Dembélé is the player involved in the most goals in Europe's top five leagues across all competitions in 2025 (36 – 27 goals, 9 assists).
Romero, Bentancur, Richarlison… A look at the opposition
Thomas Frank and his team are expected to start the season with a 4-3-3 formation. Italian international Guglielmo Vicario will start in goal, ahead of Antonín Kinský. In central defence, Dutch international Micky van de Ven is likely to partner Cristian Romero at the heart of the London club's back line. Former Lens player Kevin Danso and the very young Luka Vuskovic could start the match on the bench, while Radu Drăgușin is injured.
To the right of the central pairing, Spanish international Pedro Porro is a leader for the London side. It remains to be seen whether former Rennes player Djed Spence or Italian international Destiny Udogie, who recently suffered a knee injury, will take the starting spot on the left side, while the experienced Ben Davies can also play in that position. In the holding midfield role, Bavarian signing João Palhinha should bring stability to the Spurs midfield and could already be ahead of the promising youngsters Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray in the pecking order.
The two 19-year-old midfielders can also play slightly higher, but Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr seem to have the edge. However, there is also the Yves Bissouma option, formerly of LOSC. In attack, playmaker James Maddison is unavailable, while Dejan Kulusevski is recovering from a knee injury. On the right wing, Bilbao final hero Brennan Johnson is expected to start, while Mohammed Kudus, Spurs' star summer signing, could start on the left flank.
With wingers Bryan Gil and Manor Solomon absent, former Titi Wilson Odobert, who trained at the club until U19 level, could make an appearance on the pitch during the match. The French U21 international will no doubt be joined by a fellow countryman in the national team: Mathys Tel, who trained at Stade Rennais FC alongside a certain... Désiré Doué. The former Bayern Munich striker will be competing for a starting berth with Brazilian international Richarlison and Dominic Solanke. However, it is the former who currently seems to have the London coach's favour to start as centre forward against the Parisians.