PSG vs. Fiorentina: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info
Paris Saint-Germain’s preseason preparations continue in the United States this week. After an entertaining 3-2 victory over Benfica in Toronto, they now face Serie A side Fiorentina at the Red Bull Arena in their second match of the International Champions Cup.
There is just over two weeks left before the French champions begin their quest for their fourth consecutive title, and they should be slightly ahead of their Italian counterparts as the two sides do battle in Harrison, New Jersey. Fiorentina finished fourth in the league last season, but they don’t start their league campaign until two weeks after the Parisians.
Laurent Blanc is slowly but surely reintroducing his first-team players into the preseason action, and without his South American stars—Thiago Silva and Marquinhos have rejoined the squad but will likely miss the match—the game should still feature a host of well-known European names and provide the American crowd with an entertaining fixture.
Date: Tuesday, July 21
Kick-Off: 1:35 a.m. BST (Wednesday), 8:35 p.m. EDT
TV Listings: Fox Soccer 1 (U.S.), beIN Sports 1 (France)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.)
Form Guide
Paris Saint-Germain
Friendly: Wiener 0-2 PSG
Friendly: Benfica 2-3 PSG
Fiorentina
Friendly: Fiorentina 10-0 Trentino
Friendly: Fiorentina 0-0 Gyor
Friendly: Fiorentina 2-0 Carpi
Predicted Formations
PSG: (4-3-3)
Kevin Trapp; Gregory van der Wiel, Serge Aurier, Presnel Kimpembe, Maxwell; Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi, Christopher Nkunku; Lucas Moura, Jean-Kevin Augustin, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Fiorentina: (3-5-2)
Ciprian Tatarusanu; Gonzalo Rodriguez, Michele Camporese, Manuel Pasqual; Joaquin, Borja Valero, Matias Fernandez, Josip Ilicic, Marcos Alonso; Mario Gomez, Giuseppe Rossi
Players to Watch
PSG: Jean-Kevin Augustin
Just like Jean-Christophe Bahebeck last season, young PSG striker Augustin is making a name for himself in this preseason tour.
Two goals against Austrian side Wiener SK kicked off his preparations; the 18-year-old popped up again to open the scoring on Saturday against Benfica.
Although he never featured for Laurent Blanc’s first team last season, he did score six times for PSG II in the French fourth division, and with a new contract until 2019, the forward will hope to continue to impress this summer.
Fiorentina: Giuseppe Rossi
The American-born striker has had to endure a terrible time with injuries, missing the entire 2014/15 season with a knee injury. The Italian is back for La Viola, and he scored and set up the second as they beat Serie A new boys Carpi 2-0 in their last friendly.
Rossi spoke to ViolaChannel about his return (h/t Football Italia):
"Finally I am back on the pitch after more than a year out of action. It wasn’t easy today against a Serie A side like Carpi, but I was so happy. We did well today. These months have been very tough, but finally today I got the right opportunity to step back on to the field.
"
Key Battle
Presnel Kimpembe vs. Mario Gomez
After a successful showing at the Toulon Tournament for France, the young centre-back faces a tough challenge against the German striker.
Last season, Mario Gomez scored only 10 goals in 32 appearances for Fiorentina, but the powerful striker will give Kimpembe a tough test in Red Bull Arena Tuesday night.
Although the 19-year-old only featured for 15 minutes in PSG’s title campaign last season, he is highly thought of and should play a bigger part in the squad this season after Zoumana Camara’s retirement this summer.
Before the game, Blanc spoke to the official PSG website (in French) and explained that the time the defender had spent training with the professional players last season had helped his development.
However, there is a difference between facing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in training and facing someone like Gomez in a match setting.
For the German, he has the summer to impress new boss Paulo Sousa before the start of the Serie A season.
Bleacher Report is official media partner of the International Champions Cup North America.
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