PSG vs Aston Villa - CL QF 1st leg - pre match thread

[KevinGage]

3-1 to them here. 2-0 to us at VP. And Emi to do this thing re penalties.

French nemesis.

[Toronto Villa]

Isn't it a bit early for this thread?

Bit early? The game is next Wednesday.

It’s this Wednesday. Next Wednesday is a week Wednesday.

I posted my comment on Saturday. So at the time the game was next Wednesday. As in the next Wednesday on the calendar.

[thick_mike]

Anyone know a good place to watch the match in Porto?

[VillaTim]

We must be making a good few quid reaching the QF's , getting past these into the SF's must be big money too .
COYVB's .

[Louzie0]

I’ve had a little read on A PSG forum and there are a few themes emerging -


They are concerned about our firepower up front.
They reckon Unai wants revenge.
They think next Weds will be a draw, but that their manager will get them through over 2 legs.
They really don’t like Emi Martinez.

The mind games so far: Villa 2 or 3 - PSG 0.

And positive comments re visiting VP!

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Anyone know a good place to watch the match in Porto?

Most bars and tascas will have it on, Mike. Just avoid the vomit on the plate Francesinhas and you'll be fine.

[Olneythelonely]

Isn't it a bit early for this thread?

Bit early? The game is next Wednesday.

It’s this Wednesday. Next Wednesday is a week Wednesday.

I posted my comment on Saturday. So at the time the game was next Wednesday. As in the next Wednesday on the calendar.

That’s not what next Wednesday means.

[Villa Lew]

3-1 to them but we do a 1994 Tranmere return leg at VP and Rogers scores the winning penalty - lovely....

Is big Ron coming back just for this tie, to assist Unai?

[Richard E]

What’s our all-time record away win?

[TaxDodger]

If this tie goes to penalties it'll take about 10 goes each before anybody scores with Emi and Donnarumma in the goals.

[pauliewalnuts]

They looked brilliant against Liverpool, but turns out, Liverpool have been shit for weeks.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

PSG are very good and are one of the favourites to win the tournament. They have utterly dominated French football, won the league and will probably win the French Cup. They destroyed Liverpool in the last round and as a result have the media drooling over them. Consequently, many of us seem to be approaching the game in hope rather than expectation. Hoping that we can somehow get a reasonable enough scoreline that will at least keep the tie alive for the second leg.
Lets look at the other side of the centime...
The French league is of poorer quality, the other "big names" of French football seem to have fallen away giving PSG a free run.
They didn't exactly dominate during the league phase. Look at their 4 home results.
18/09: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Girona
22/10: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
06/11: Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Atlético de Madrid
22/01: Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Manchester City
The performance/results against Liverpool were impressive but perhaps a little deceptive considering the drop off we have since seen from red scouse.
On Wednesday they will be facing a virtually injury free squad from the strongest league in Europe that are in a rich vein of form.
I think the minimum we should expect is a draw, but wouldn't be the least surprised with our eighth win in a row.
Allez Les Clarets !

[VillaTim]

they scraped past Angers H yesterday 1-0

[eye digress]

And against Dunkirk (3rd tier) in midweek.

Marquinhos, the skipper, is suspended for the first tie.

A lot has been said about Dembélé’s goalscoring. He’s in a purple patch for sure, but often reminds me of Diaby, in that he’s not a natural finisher. We’ll want Digne looking after him.

Doué, who will likely start on the bench, is, however a finisher.

Barcola playing up the left will be a challenge. We will want to be solid at right back. Will Unai start with Cash, or something more aggressive, like Disasi?

Kvaratskhelia also looks very talented and might need to be man marked.

Kamara needs to do a job on Vitinha, who makes them tick and has a tidy long range shot.

Both full backs are good going forwards, but less accomplished defensively. There is an opportunity there for us.

Noticed that no one is really giving us a chance in this game. But PSG were pretty ordinary up until January.

They might have more stars, but seems to me that we have the stronger bench, likely greater resilience born out of the intensity of our league and to a degree, the benefit of surprise for the first leg, at least.

UTV!

[Sexual Ealing]

PSG are very good and are one of the favourites to win the tournament. They have utterly dominated French football, won the league and will probably win the French Cup. They destroyed Liverpool in the last round and as a result have the media drooling over them. Consequently, many of us seem to be approaching the game in hope rather than expectation. Hoping that we can somehow get a reasonable enough scoreline that will at least keep the tie alive for the second leg.
Lets look at the other side of the centime...
The French league is of poorer quality, the other "big names" of French football seem to have fallen away giving PSG a free run.
They didn't exactly dominate during the league phase. Look at their 4 home results.
18/09: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Girona
22/10: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
06/11: Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Atlético de Madrid
22/01: Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Manchester City
The performance/results against Liverpool were impressive but perhaps a little deceptive considering the drop off we have since seen from red scouse.
On Wednesday they will be facing a virtually injury free squad from the strongest league in Europe that are in a rich vein of form.
I think the minimum we should expect is a draw, but wouldn't be the least surprised with our eighth win in a row.
Allez Les Clarets !

Now that's a post. A gods-angering begging letter for a twatting, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.