PSG vs AS Monaco: Ousmane Dembélé to Miss Crucial Champions League Second Leg

AS Monaco head to the Parc des Princes to face PSG in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 32 clash.

Monaco will hope to carry momentum from their 3–2 league victory over RC Lens last weekend and use it to avoid a repeat of the first-leg result. The principality side raced into a two-goal lead against the reigning champions last time out, but that advantage quickly disappeared as PSG stormed back to lead 3–2 at half-time a scoreline they held until the final whistle.

The visitors have not won a Champions League match since 9 December, when they defeated Galatasaray 1–0. Similarly, PSG have not enjoyed the European campaign they envisioned at the start of the season, winning only four of their eight league-phase matches.

History adds another layer to this encounter. Over the past five years, the fixture has remained highly competitive. Across 14 meetings, PSG have won seven, Monaco five, and only two have ended in draws.

This season’s results underline the unpredictability even further, with both sides claiming one victory each and scoring the same number of goals against one another.

Monaco face significant squad challenges ahead of Wednesday’s game. Ten first-team players are unavailable due to injury, alongside Aleksandr Golovin, who was sent off in the first leg. Regular starters Eric Dier, Takumi Minamino and Mohammed Salisu will also miss out. However, reports from L’Équipe suggest star winger Maghnes Akliouche is set to return to the starting XI after missing the last two matches through injury.

PSG have injury concerns of their own. They suffered a major setback when Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé was forced off after just 26 minutes in the first leg. PSG must now cope without their primary attacking threat for this decisive encounter.

Les Parisiens enter as favourites, especially given Monaco have not won at the Parc des Princes in nearly a decade, with their last victory there dating back to March 2016.

Luis Enrique will be grateful his side carry a one-goal advantage into this second leg and will look to use it strategically to boost PSG’s hopes of progressing further in the competition. Meanwhile, Monaco boss Sébastien Pocognoli will aim to orchestrate an upset and eliminate the reigning champions and will approach the tie with belief.

Predicted Line-ups

PSG:

Matvey Safonov; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Warren Zaïre-Emery, João Neves; Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Gonçalo Ramos.

Monaco:

Philipp Köhn; Jordan Teze, Thilo Kehrer, Wout Faes, Caio Henrique; Denis Zakaria, Mamadou Coulibaly, Lamine Camara; Ansu Fati, Maghnes Akliouche, Folarin Balogun.