Paris Saint-Germain get their 2024-25 UEFA Champions League quest underway on Wednesday against Girona at Parc des Princes. The French titleholders have won six of the last seven Ligue 1 titles while the Spaniards were a surprise package in La Liga and finished third.
It has been a good start to the new Championnat season in France for Luis Enrique’s side with four wins from four. Les Parisiens are coming into a run of six games across 19 days with Arsenal up next which makes a strong start against Girona vital. The 2019-20 final defeat to Bayern Munchen remains Paris’ best showing to date in the Champions League and PSG have lost just one of 36 UCL home games dating back to the 2012-13 season.
Girona are in mixed form with two wins, one draw and two losses from their first five La Liga games and Michel will be keen to launch his side in the strongest possible way in the club’s first-ever Champions League game. Spanish UCL debutants often fare well given that Villarreal, Sevilla and Malaga all reached the knockout rounds in their maiden outings.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, September 18 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Parc des Princes – Paris, France
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: PSG -275; Draw +450; Girona +700
League phase schedule
PSG: Girona (home), Arsenal (away), PSV Eindhoven (home), Atletico Madrid (home), Bayern Munchen (away), Red Bull Salzburg (away), Manchester City (home) and VfB Stuttgart (away).
Girona: PSG (away), Feyenoord (home), Slovan Bratislava (home), PSV Eindhoven (away), Sturm Graz (away), Liverpool (home), Milan (away) and Arsenal (home).
Team news
PSG: Goncalo Ramos, Presnel Kimpembe and Lucas Hernandez are all out and possibly until the end of the year. Warren Zaire-Emery and Vitinha have both been doubts but could yet be passed fit. Lee Kang-in, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves should all start while Luis Enrique is also likely to recall Marquinhos and William Pacho with Milan Skriniar and Lucas Beraldo possibly dropping out. Bradley Barcola should combine with Ousmane Dembele and one of Marco Asensio or Randal Kolo Muani up top.
Possible PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Lee, Ruiz, Neves; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Barcola.
Girona: Ricard Artero and Jastin are out while Yangel Herrera is a doubt after missing the Barcelona game. Oriol Romeu was ineligible against parent club Barca but returns against PSG and should feature alongside Ivan Martin and Jhon Solis in midfield with Donny van de Beek capable of stepping in if needed. Abel Ruiz should continue in attack ahead of Bojan Miovski and Cristhian Stuani with Portu, Bryan Gil, Viktor Tsygankov and Arnaut Danjuma competing for berths out wide.
Possible Girona XI: Gazzaniga; Frances, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Martin, Romeu, Solis; Tsygankov, Ruiz, Danjuma.
Prediction
Although Girona will hope to make life tough for PSG, the French giants should get off to a fairly straightforward start to their Champions League campaign. Expect Les Parisiens to win by a goal or two with a clean sheet a big boost if they pull it off. Pick: PSG 2, Girona 0.
