The bright lights of the Parc des Princes will shine down on one of Tuesday's headline Champions League openers, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome German giants Borussia Dortmund to the French capital in Group F.

The two continental behemoths were drawn against one another in this year's group of death, where Newcastle United and seven-time winners AC Milan are also vying for the top two spots.

Match preview

For the fourth time in four years, a new face will be commencing PSG's latest bid for Champions League supremacy, which Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier and all those before them failed to deliver during their stints in the Parc des Princes hotseat.

Despite collecting the obligatory Ligue 1 title, Galtier's departure was inevitable after the Frenchman oversaw a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2022-23 last 16, which marked the fifth time in seven seasons that PSG had been eliminated at the first knockout hurdle, and the continental trophy cabinet continues to gather dust by the day.

Former Barcelona treble winner Luis Enrique has assumed office as he bids to repeat his Champions League success with the Blaugrana in 2015, but rather than hit the ground running in the French capital, he has led PSG to their worst points total at the start of a season since their Qatari takeover.

Indeed, the reigning Ligue 1 champions have amassed just eight points from a possible 15 so far and suffered yet another chastening home loss at the weekend, going down 3-2 to a Terem Moffi-inspired Nice, which leaves them fifth in the top-flight table - uncharted territory for the perennial title holders.

Teething problems were to be expected as PSG settled into the post-Lionel Messi and Neymar era, but another lavish summer of spending is yet to have the desired effect for Tuesday's hosts, who have now lost five of their last nine competitive fixtures in front of their own fans.

Aiming to knock a few more walls of the Parc des Princes fortress down is a Dortmund side who share Les Parisiens' pain when it comes to missing out on glory, having come agonisingly close to ending Bayern Munich's spate of Bundesliga dominance last season before settling for the silver medal once again.

A pair of disappointing draws against Bochum and Heidenheim before the international break means that Edin Terzic's men are already off the pace this time around too, but a trip to Freiburg at the weekend saw Dortmund reverse a 2-1 deficit to run out 4-2 winners.

Thanks to efforts from Donyell Malen and Marco Reus, alongside the unlikeliest of braces from Mats Hummels, Dortmund stretched their unbeaten run across all competitions to 13 matches - scoring in every one of those contests - but they are still waiting for their first away clean sheet of the season.

Champions League winners in 1997 and losing finalists in 2013 - where Bayern were the thorn in their side once again - BVB only won two of their group-stage affairs last year before a last-16 exit to Chelsea, and only one of the visitors' last six away matches in the competition has ended in victory, a 4-1 drubbing of Sevilla last October.

Dortmund did get the better of PSG 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the 2019-20 Champions League, but the Tuchel-led Parisiens bit back at the Parc des Princes with a 2-0 win en route to the final, where BVB's regular nemesis Bayern crushed their dreams of European stardom.

Team News

While PSG's star man Kylian Mbappe shook off a minor knee concern in time to start against Nice, Enrique is still coping with a large number of absentees, including Marco Asensio, who has been ruled out for the rest of the month owing to a foot injury.

Hamstring victims Nordi Mukiele and Nuno Mendes are not quite ready to return either, while Presnel Kimpembe's Achilles tendon is still giving him grief, and Fabian Ruiz is doubtful after sitting out the loss to Nice with a thigh complaint.

Lee Kang-in - who will soon be representing South Korea at the Asian Games - is still sidelined by a muscular concern, while Sergio Rico is still on the long road to recovery from his harrowing head injury; fellow goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier (knee) is absent too.

Due to their late returns from South America, Marquinhos and Manuel Ugarte were not considered for starting roles on Friday, but the pair ought to replace Danilo Pereira and Carlos Soler this time around.

The Borussia Dortmund infirmary is not quite so full, but Thomas Meunier (hamstring) and Mateu Morey (knee) are not expected back until next month, while Julien Duranville is still short of match fitness.

On a brighter note, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and right-back Julian Ryerson both completed the full 90 against Freiburg following problems of their own, while Niclas Fullkrug came off the bench despite a tendon issue, and Giovanni Reyna is expected to be in the squad following a leg injury.

Should Ryerson not be deemed ready for two starts in quick succession, Marius Wolf - who set up Reus's late strike at the weekend - is a more than capable deputy, while Ramy Bensebaini should continue on the opposite flank despite being taken off at the break last time out.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Mbappe

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Malen, Haller, Reus

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

The Parc des Princes may have lost its fear factor in 2023, but PSG have still managed at least two goals in each of their last three contests, and a fired-up Mbappe can always be relied on to terrorise opposing defences.

The anticipated returns of Ugarte and Marquinhos will also add a layer of steel to the Parisiens' XI, but Dortmund's in-form attackers should still have a glint in their eyes and can claim a point for their side in what promises to be a captivating clash.


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