On Wednesday, two more round of 16 matches of Europe’s top club competition are scheduled, and this time we have analyzed the duel that will take place at Parc des Princes, where PSG players will host Real Sociedad. The start of the match between the French and Spanish representatives is scheduled for 9 pm.
PSG: Impressive Performances Lately!
Since PSG got wealthy owners, the team has dominated the French championship. However, the club from the French capital has still not managed to win the “big-eared” trophy. The closest the French representative came to the trophy was in 2020 when the team was defeated by Bayern Munich in the grand final, with the match ending 1:0. Last season, the team finished first in the table with just one point more than second-placed Lens, noting that the Parisians had already secured the championship title two rounds before the end, so they eased off in the last few matches.
Numerous changes occurred at Parc des Princes before the start of this season, as Neymar, Verratti left the club, and Lionel Messi had earlier departed from PSG to continue his career in America. Luis Enrique was appointed as the new coach, which was certainly a big surprise, and players like Asensio, Dembele, Skriniar, and Ramos joined the club.
At this moment, the popular Saints are at the top of the table with an eleven-point lead over second-placed Nice, which means PSG is on the right track to defend the French championship title, which, of course, was the primary goal for this season.
In the last five league matches, the team achieved four victories with only one draw, and that was at Parc des Princes against Brest, ending 2:2, noting that the guests have been playing phenomenally this season, as evidenced by their current fourth place in the table.
In the last round of Ligue 1, the table leader easily celebrated at their stadium against the formidable Lille, with the duel ending 3:1. At home, Luis Enrique’s men have played eleven league matches, achieving eight victories, two draws, and only one loss, which was against second-placed Nice.
Regarding the Champions League, the Parisians managed to advance to the knockout phase from a very tough group, as the French representative, competing with Milan, Newcastle, and Dortmund, eventually finished second in the table with the same number of points as third-placed Milan. However, the Saints, to the great joy of their fans, had a better head-to-head record against the Italian representative and, we can freely say, luckily advanced to the next phase, where they will face Real Sociedad.
For this duel in the French capital, Luis Enrique will not be able to count on Skriniar, Mendes, Rico, Kimpembe, and Kurzawa.
Real Sociedad: Four Consecutive Matches Without Scoring!
Last season, Real Sociedad played top-notch football, so it’s not surprising that the team from San Sebastian finished fourth in the table, which, as is well known, brings direct qualification to the Champions League. This has been the primary goal for years for the team from Anoeta, where the legendary David Silva played last season before hanging up his boots.
Since 2018, Imanol Alguacil has been at the helm of this team. Only in his first season did he fail to lead the Basque team to a European competition, finishing ninth, but since then, Real Sociedad has participated in UEFA competitions, and this season, finally, in the Champions League.
Speaking of which, the Spanish representative’s performance in the group stage deserves real praise. Against all odds, they finished first in a challenging group that included Inter, Benfica, and Salzburg – all exceptionally quality teams. In six matches, Alguacil’s men achieved three victories and the same number of draws, conceding only two goals, a commendable achievement.
In the decisive match for the top spot in the group, the team from Anoeta managed to hold out in a goalless draw at Inter. However, it seems that since securing a place in the Champions League knockout phase, the team has been struggling in the national championship.
Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that the team hasn’t scored in their last four matches in all competitions. This might not be surprising given Alguacil’s style of play, but it is strange compared to their performances at the start of the season when they played more offensively.
In the last round, the team from Anoeta suffered another setback in the league at their home stadium against Osasuna, losing 0-1. Their last league victory, a challenging away game at Celta, was nearly a month ago, ending 1-0.
Currently, Real Sociedad is seventh in the table, eleven points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid. It seems unlikely that we will see them in the Champions League next season, and based on their current performances, they don’t seem to deserve it.
Finally, for the upcoming match against PSG, Imanol Alguacil will be without Odriozola, Munoz, Becker, Fernandez, Elustondo, while Oyarzabal and Tierney are doubtful.
Our Betting Suggestions
As time goes by, PSG is playing better and better, while unfortunately, as the season progresses, Real Sociedad is delivering increasingly weaker performances, as evidenced by the fact that they haven’t managed to score in their last four matches in all competitions. We expect the Parisians to win this duel much more easily than expected, so we advise you to focus on a home win (1), for which 22Bet has prepared odds of 1.67.
We anticipate that PSG will aggressively attack the goal of the Spanish representative from the first minute, and it’s unlikely that the club from San Sebastian will be able to withstand that pressure. Therefore, we boldly recommend you to bet on a HT/FT PSG to Win bet, which 22Bet offers at odds of 2.49.
Finally, it seems likely that Mbappe and his teammates will manage to score at least two goals in this match, so we advise you to play the PSG Individual Total Over 1.5 Goals market, all with odds of 1.89 at 22Bet.
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