Separated by one point in the Champions League's so-called 'Group of Death', Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan meet at Parc des Princes on Wednesday evening.
Ahead of next month's reverse fixture in Italy's second city, the teams go head to head in the French capital, with PSG aiming to bounce back from a humbling loss last time out in Group F and Milan seeking their first win.
Match preview
© Reuters
Conceding four goals in a Champions League group game for the first time in over 20 years, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a battering by Newcastle United earlier this month, as the French champions' flaws were exposed time and again at a raucous St James' Park.
After going two down shortly before the break, all hope of fighting back was effectively ended in the 50th minute, and despite Lucas Hernandez reducing the deficit soon after, Fabian Schar's late strike consigned the French champions to a dismal 4-1 defeat.
Although plenty of post-match scorn was reserved for several stars who failed to perform at their best level, many fans questioned the tactics of coach Luis Enrique, who has taken some time to settle into his new surroundings.
Only Manchester City boast a higher average possession in this season's Champions League, and PSG's 73% share against Newcastle was their third-highest on record, but like Enrique's Spain teams of the recent past, that has not always translated into positive results.
The Ligue 1 club started with a home win over Borussia Dortmund, but having not lost consecutive games in the same group stage since 2004 - when they last failed to make the knockout rounds - they will be keen to avoid such a fate this week.
By way of response to their setback in England, Enrique's men have since posted back-to-back league wins either side of the international break - most recently seeing off Strasbourg 3-0 on Saturday, when Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with a penalty - and moved to within two points of leaders Monaco.
Les Parisiens can now put an underwhelming start to the season further behind them with another success at Parc des Princes, where since becoming Champions League regulars 11 years ago they have lost just one of 34 group games, winning on no less than 27 occasions.
However, they will need to end their drought against Milan in Europe's top club competition in order to do so, having lost both legs of the clubs' 1995 semi-final and drawn twice in 2000-01.
© Reuters
Not only have Milan historically had the better of Wednesday's hosts, they have also lost just three of their 16 Champions League contests with French sides all told - most notably the 1993 final against PSG's fierce rivals Marseille. This year, they cross the border in need of another good result, following successive 0-0 draws to kick off their Group F campaign.
Indeed, including a 3-0 aggregate defeat to old foes Inter in last season's semis, the Rossoneri have now failed to score in their last four Champions League matches - the club's longest run without a goal in their long European competition history.
A distinct lack of precision has proved costly so far, as only Manchester City and Real Madrid have had more shots than Milan, but the Italian giants remain without a goal following their stalemate with Borussia Dortmund last time out.
Nonetheless, Stefano Pioli's side have not conceded either throughout their last four group-stage matches, so the seven-time European champions should prove a tough nut to crack in Paris.
The theme of coming up short in the opposition area continued on Sunday evening, as likely Scudetto rivals Juventus left San Siro with a 1-0 win, after the hosts had gone down to 10 men during the first half.
Due to absences, third-choice goalkeeper Antonio Mirante stepped into the starting XI, but he was only beaten by a deflected shot from ex-Milan midfielder Manuel Locatelli, who remarkably had scored their winner in the equivalent fixture seven years before to the day.
Defeat was Milan's second in nine Serie A matches this season - the other a 5-1 evisceration by Inter - but they have won all the others and sit just behind their city rivals in the standings. In a week when they also meet Scudetto holders Napoli, it remains to be seen if Pioli's new-look Rossoneri can now conquer teams of similar stature.
Team News
© Reuters
Although they were not missed too much in Saturday's 3-0 win, Paris Saint-Germain quartet Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Layvin Kurzawa and Randal Kolo Muani all return from suspension for the clash with Milan.
However, Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles) and Nuno Mendes (hamstring) are sidelined by injury, while Marco Asensio's participation is in doubt due to a foot problem.
Starting at the heart of the hosts' back line, ex-Inter defender Milan Skriniar has won 11 and lost only four of his previous games against Milan, while goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma meets his former club for the first time since leaving.
Kylian Mbappe leads PSG's front four, and since the start of 2017-18, he has been involved in more Champions League group-stage goals than any other player (26 of his own and 20 assists), averaging a goal involvement every 65 minutes.
Marco Sportiello, Samu Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and long-term absentee Ismael Bennacer are all out of action for Milan, but first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan returns following a Serie A suspension.
His fellow Frenchman Theo Hernandez - brother of PSG's Lucas Hernandez - will also slot back into the starting XI in Paris, where Rade Krunic could start in midfield after making a cameo appearance from the bench against Juve.
Despite failing to find the net on Sunday, the Rossoneri's preferred attacking triumvirate of Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic should be retained up front.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, L. Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, T. Hernandez; Musah, Krunic, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 AC Milan
Aside from their implosion in the Derby della Madonnina, Milan know how to keep things tight when required and came close to posting a fourth straight clean sheet in all competitions last weekend.
Therefore, even PSG's attacking stars may find it tough to score more than once, and a share of the spoils would perfectly set up next month's return.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
