PSG vs. Shakhtar Donetsk: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info
Paris Saint-Germain welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to Parc des Princes in Group A of the UEFA Champions League in the final fixture before the latter stages.
A 5-0 thrashing of Malmo FF in Sweden secured the French champions’ safe passage to the knockout rounds, and Laurent Blanc’s men will be hoping to close the gap on Real Madrid to accurately reflect the tight nature of the top two in this group.
If PSG are to make up some ground on Los Blancos, then they will require a favour from Malmo at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Date: Tuesday, December 8
Time: 8:45 p.m. (CET 7:45 p.m. GMT)/2:45 p.m. EST
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
TV Info: beIN Sports 1 (France—8:45 p.m. CET), BT Sport Extra (UK—via red button at 8:45 p.m. GMT), Fox Soccer 2 Go (USA—2:45 p.m. EST)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2 Go
Preamble
Although only second in Group A, PSG will be pleased with this season’s Champions League campaign so far.
Admittedly the French capital outfit lost 1-0 away at Real, a result that has decided the outcome of the group, but the Ligue 1 leaders arguably outplayed the Spanish giants and have clearly strengthened since last campaign.
A win for Les Parisiens will not be enough to bridge the gap on Los Blancos, who play Malmo at the same time, but it will enable them to at least equal last term’s total points tally of 13.
As for Shakhtar, it has been a disappointing campaign, and Mircea Lucescu’s men are looking to end their Group A outing with qualification for the UEFA Europa League.
With PSG already sure of a place in the last 16, expect Blanc to rest some of his key men and to give chances to a few fringe players.
Per PSG.fr, Thiago Silva has been rested by Le President. Serge Aurier has also been left out of the group, while Marco Verratti and Javier Pastore are still not fit enough to return to action. Youngsters Jean-Kevin Augustin and Hervin Ongenda have also been left out.
According to Shakhtar.com, Lucescu named a relatively strong travelling squad for the men from Eastern European.
Considering that both sides have large Brazilian contingents, expect this clash at Parc des Princes to have a particularly South American flavour to it.
Form Lines (All Competitions)
PSG
W 1-2 vs. Lorient (Ligue 1)
W 0-5 vs. Malmo FF (Champions League)
W 4-1 vs. ESTAC Troyes (Ligue 1)
D 0-0 vs. Angers (Ligue 1)
W 0-3 vs. OGC Nice (Ligue 1)
Shakhtar Donetsk
W 2-3 vs. PFC Olexandria (Ukrainian Premier League)
W 4-0 vs. FC Volyn Lutsk (Ukrainian Premier League)
L 3-4 vs. Real Madrid (Champions League)
W 1-6 vs. FC Zakarpatty (Ukrainian Premier League)
W 3-0 vs. FC Karpaty Lviv (Ukrainian Premier League)
Predicted Formations
"Paris-Shakhtar : les compos probables (LeParisien) #PSGSHA #PSG pic.twitter.com/PpwjVJGlyz
— Paris No Limit™ (@ParisNoLimit) December 8, 2015"
PSG (4-3-3): Trapp; Van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Luiz, Kurzawa; Stambouli, Rabiot, Matuidi; Lucas Moura, Ibrahimovic (c), Lavezzi.
Shakhtar (4-2-3-1): Kanibolotskiy; Srna (c), Kucher, Rakitskiy, Ismaily; Stepanenko, Fred; Kobin, Teixeira, Bernard; Ferreyra.
Player to Watch Per Side
Adrien Rabiot has been in good form for PSG since he was called upon to replace the injured Marco Verratti early on in the 1-0 defeat away at Real.
Since then, the 20-year-old has put in some mature performances for Les Parisiens and even managed to score the opening goal in the 5-0 rout of Malmo last time out in the Champions League.
The France under-21 international was rested from the start for the 3-0 win away at Nice last Friday, but he came on for the final 32 minutes. He will be relishing a possible second consecutive start in Europe.
Although this season’s Champions League campaign has been a largely gloomy one for Shakhtar, Alex Teixeira’s performances occasionally illuminated that gloom surrounding the Ukrainian giants.
The Brazilian has scored three times in his five Group A appearances, and Lucescu’s men are likely already preparing to fight to keep hold of the star man in January.
Key Battle
The decisive battle on Tuesday night will be between PSG’s star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Shakhtar’s central defence.
This is the sort of game that the Swede is capable of dominating, and in his current rich vein of form, do not put it past him to do that.
Zlatan needs just one goal to become PSG's all-time top scorer in UEFA competitions with 17, as he is currently tied with George Weah on 16.
If the likes of Ivan Ordets and Yaroslav Rakitskiy can keep Ibrahimovic quiet, then perhaps Shakhtar stand a chance of pulling off a surprise in Paris.
However, even if Lucescu’s men do silence the 34-year-old, they then have to worry about the likes of Edinson Cavani and Lucas Moura.
Odds (Oddsshark)
PSG: -250
Shakhtar Donetsk: +655
Draw: +390
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