Malmo vs. PSG: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Paris Saint-Germain are in Sweden this week, looking to book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a victory over Malmo FF on Wednesday night.
Laurent Blanc's side start the game four points ahead of the home side, and if results go their way, they should confirm their progress before Shakhtar Donetsk visit the Parc des Princes on Matchday 6.
Malmo know that they need all three points to give them a great chance of at least making it into the Europa League—and go into the game knowing they have won two of their five games against Ligue 1 sides. However, PSG are unbeaten in their five fixtures against Swedish opponents, picking up four wins and a draw.
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PSG's 2-1 win over Lorient on Saturday has given the club a 13-point gap at the top of Ligue 1. They have won eight straight league games—last matchday's 1-0 loss to Real Madrid their only blemish this season.
Malmo finished fifth in the Allsvenskan this season, missing out on European qualification for next year. Form and match-sharpness is against the Swedes. They haven't played since November 8, and that was a cup match against second-division side Gotene.
Date: Wednesday, November 24, 2015
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST (2:45 p.m. ET)
Venue: Swedbank Stadion, Malmo
TV Info: BT Sport (UK), Fox Soccer (U.S.)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer2Go (U.S.)
Form Lines
| Malmo FF | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Gotene 0-5 Malmo (Swedish Cup) | Lorient 1-2 PSG (Ligue 1) |
| Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 Malmo (Champions League) | PSG 5-0 Toulouse (Ligue 1) |
| Malmo 0-2 Norrkoping (Allsvenskan) | Real Madrid 1-0 PSG (Champions League) |
| Hammarby 0-1 Malmo (Allsvenskan) | Rennes 0-1 PSG (Ligue 1) |
| Malmo 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk (Champions League) | PSG 4-1 Saint-Etienne (Ligue 1) |
Blanc named his 19-man squad for the Champions League this week. He is without David Luiz through suspension and is still dealing with injuries to Marco Verratti, Serge Aurier, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore.
Presnel Kimpembe had to be replaced at half-time against Lorient with a head knock, so it is expected that Marquinhos will start in the centre of the defence beside Thiago Silva.
Both Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria didn't feature during Saturday's league game; they will likely come back into the front line to join Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the top of PSG's 4-3-3.
In Paris, Age Hareide went for 3-5-2 to try to limit PSG’s dominance in midfield. It failed to work, and the home side were given too much space down the channels. Expect the Norwegian coach to switch back to 4-4-2.
Hareide is without Kari Arnason through suspension, which should mean young defender Franz Brorsson plays from the start, per Mattias Larsson of the Expressen (in Swedish).
Predicted Formations
Malmo (4-4-2): Johan Wiland; Anton Tinnerholm, Rasmus Bengtsson, Franz Brorsson, Pa Konate; Vladimir Rodic, Oscar Lewicki, Enock Adu, Jo Inge Begnet; Nikola Durdic, Markus Rosenberg
PSG (4-3-3): Kevin Trapp; Gregory van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Thiago Motta, Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi; Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Player to Watch
There is little doubt who the main attraction will be on Wednesday night. Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns home, to the place where his career began, and regardless of the result, that in itself is a huge occasion.
The Swedish forward will receive a hero’s welcome. Not just because he is their favourite son, but also to celebrate his three goals against Denmark that sealed their country's place at Euro 2016.
In an interview for UEFA.com, when asked how important his time at Malmo was to his career, Zlatan said:
"That's where everything started. That's where I told myself: "Either I'll do this for real or just waste my time for a while," and that was a decision I made when I was playing in the MFF junior team. They gave me a chance to show what I could do, and I took it. Even if it was hard considering where I came from, my name, my background, I fought hard. I had to be better than everyone else to succeed ...
"
Sweden's Player of the Year has booked out Malmo's main square for a big screen to show Wednesday's match, making sure everyone can watch what he does, back in his hometown.
Key Battle
When the two sides met in Paris on Matchday 1, Malmo's Oscar Lewicki was one of the only players from the away side who could have been proud of his performance.
The Sweden international harried and harassed the PSG midfield at every opportunity. His fight and attitude was ideal for the away fight, and he will need to play at the same level on Wednesday.
Without Verratti, PSG will look to Rabiot, but he will add his own style to the game. Rabiot prefers to run with the ball and break forward. He is very good at making a quick turn and pushing PSG forward. Lewicki, although he plays in both defence and attack, will need to be wary of giving Rabiot too much space to run.
If the 23-year-old can limit Rabiot's presence, Malmo will have a chance of winning the midfield battle—although Blaise Matuidi can easily provide the same threat.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Home win: 841-100
Away win: 50-139
Draw: 357-100
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