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Sports Illustrated
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Max Mallow

PSG Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal: Champions League Semifinals

PSG's players celebrate hitting back against Aston Villa in their Champions League quarterfinal | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Paris Saint-Germain travel to England for the third time in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage taking on Arsenal in the first leg of the semifinals.

Luis Enrique's team faced Arsenal in the league phase earlier in the season losing 2-0. After a tumultuous journey toward qualification including a resounding victory over Manchester City, PSG are a different team this time around. The Parisians lost their first game of the Ligue 1 campaign this past weekend ending hopes of an invincible title run. Still, 20 points clear of Marseille on top of their strong performances against Brest, Liverpool and Aston Villa show this side is a favorite to win the Champions League.

Arsenal will be well prepared after dealing with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo across two legs, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue will hope for better success against one of the top defenses in Europe.

Here's how PSG could line up against Arsenal come Tuesday's semifinal.

PSG Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal (4-3-3)

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—Donnarumma hopes for a better performance over two legs after conceding three against Aston Villa last time out in the Champions League.

RB: Achraf Hakimi—One of the most versatile and deadly right-backs in the world, Hakimi looks to cause chaos with overlapping and interchanging runs behind Kvaratskhelia.

CB: Marquinhos—Marquinhos gets the nod in defense looking to shut down Mikel Merino's versatility at striker.

CB: Willian Pacho—The Ecuadorian defender pairs Marquinhos in defense.

LB: Nuno Mendes—After dealing with Mohamed Salah two stages ago, Nuno Mendes looks to lock down Bukayo Saka.

CM: Vitinha—Vitinha vs. Declan Rice is arguably the most exciting midfield matchup of the semifinals.

CM: Joao Neves—The former Benfica player is one of the best young talents in the world.

CM: Fabian Ruiz—Fabian Ruiz starts as the left-sided midfielder behind Kvaratskhelia.

RW: Desire Doue—The 19-year-old has announced himself on Europe's biggest stage and should start posing a threat for Myles Lewis-Skelly.

LW: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia—The Georgian has been one of the best January signings in recent history transforming and completing PSG's attack.

READ THE LATEST UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS AND MORE


This article was originally published on www.si.com as PSG Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal: Champions League Semifinals.

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