Paris Saint-Germain have one foot in the Champions League quarter-final as they travel to Real Sociedad in the last-16 second leg on Tuesday.
The French side won the first tie 2-0 at Parc des Princes, goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola putting daylight between the sides ahead of the return fixture. However, PSG have failed to win their last two matches, including a goalless draw with Monaco on Friday, but they still boast a healthy lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Real Sociedad have their work cut out for them midweek, especially given they head into the match on a run of three straight defeats. The La Liga side lost 3-2 to Sevilla on Saturday, also missing the chance to reach the Copa del Rey final last week after losing to Mallorca on penalties in the final four.
Here is 90min’s preview of Real Sociedad vs PSG this week in the Champions League.
Real Sociedad vs PSG H2H record
Current form (all competitions)
Real society
PSG
PSG 2-0 Real Sociedad – 02/14/24
PSG 3-1 Lille – 02/10/24
Mallorca 1-2 Real Sociedad – 02/18/24
PSG 2-0 Real Sociedad – 02/14/24
Real Sociedad 1-3 Villarreal – 02/23/24
Nantes 0-2 PSG – 02/17/24
Real Sociedad 1-1 (4-5p) Mallorca – 02/27/24
PSG 1-1 Rennes – 02/25/24
Real Sociedad 2-3 Sevilla – 02/03/24
Monaco 0-0 PSG – 01/03/24
Country
TV channel / live stream
United Kingdom
TNT Sports 2, discovery+, discovery+ App
United States
Paramount+, CBS, ViX
Canada
DAZN
Imanol Alguacil will be without several players for PSG’s visit, including former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich full-back Alvaro Odriozola. He is joined by Martin Merquelanz, Aihen Munoz and Carlos Fernandez on the sidelines.
Real Sociedad are hoping to have Aritz Elustondo back in their defence to combat the likes of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, while Ander Barrenetxea could return from a muscle injury.
Real Sociedad predicted lineup (4-3-3): Remiro; Traore, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Galan; Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Silva, Oyarzabal.
Luis Enrique has had some injury concerns across his backline in recent weeks, especially in the heart of defence. Centre-back options Milan Skriniar, Presnel Kimpembe and Danilo Pereira are all unavailable on Tuesday, while backup left-back Layvin Kurzawa and goalkeeper Sergio Rico are also sidelined.
However, the PSG coach should be able to welcome Marquinhos back to his starting lineup for the trip to Spain, although Marco Asensio is a doubt after being withdrawn before half-time against Monaco last time out.
PSG predicted lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Hernandez; Ruiz, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Mbappe.
Given PSG’s cushion heading to the Reale Arena, the Ligue 1 champions should make relatively easy work of qualifying for the last eight, despite their troubled history in the knockout stages over the years.
The firepower they possess should help them earn at least a draw, although they will have to be wary of a Real Sociedad side that has plenty of quality in the engine room and up top, especially in the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Takefusa Kubo.
