Paris Saint-Germain hosts Arsenal Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal tie, holding a 1-0 lead from the first match played in London. The Paris side secured the advantage at Emirates Stadium last week and look to capitalize on playing at home to reach the competition final.
PSG manager Luis Enrique made changes to his starting lineup for the return leg. Bradley Barcola is set to replace Ousmane Dembélé, who suffered a muscular strain in the first leg. Dembélé's injury status had been a subject of attention leading up to the match..Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also made tactical adjustments. Mikel Merino starts in attack for the Gunners. Thomas Partey returns to the midfield, allowing Declan Rice to play a more advanced role. Jurriën Timber retains his position on the right side of defense after recovering from injury.
Paris Saint-Germain enters this match aware of its history in Champions League return legs, having experienced notable turnarounds in past seasons. Past instances include losses after holding advantages against teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, and most recently Dortmund in the previous season's semifinal..Luis Enrique commented on the importance of focus and using the energy of the home crowd. The team aims to avoid complacency and deliver a performance that reflects their current European campaign form.
Both teams come into the match after recent domestic league losses. PSG, already crowned league champions, rested players in their last match. Arsenal lost their latest Premier League game, prompting manager Mikel Arteta to express a desire to use the resulting frustration as motivation for the Champions League tie.
Leading up to the match, PSG released promotional material to build anticipation among supporters. This included a video aiming to capture the passion associated with the club before the crucial fixture..The winner of this semifinal will face Inter Milan in the final on May 31 in Munich.
Achraf Hakimi reflected on the team's approach this season, stating that "the project for two years, to build a team rather than attract stars, is the key to this new PSG."
