The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 starts on Tuesday, February 12. Teams from different Leagues and different countries faced off against each other in the group stages to determine who will be moving on. There are many familiar faces that have advanced to the Round of 16, and also some that haven’t got this far in a while. The fierce matchups in the Round of 16 are amongst some of the most foreseen matches ever. One highly anticipated matchup in the round of 16 is Paris Saint Germain vs. Manchester United. In the Premier League, the Red Devils have built up a momentum that will be hard for PSG to counter. Nonetheless, with PSG’s trio of offense bringing in goals, nothing is impossible. However, when only one of the three attackers remains, holes begin to form.
In January 2019, Neymar Jr. suffered a foot injury, a broken metatarsal, in a game against Strasbourg. PSG won the game by 2 goals as a clean sheet and had to give the Brazilian 10 weeks off for the injury was more serious than first anticipated. Neymar headed towards his old home, Barcelona, to receive platelet-rich plasma and stem cell treatment. However, it was confirmed that he would not be able to play either leg in the game against Manchester United.
Yesterday, in a match against Bordeaux, PSG lost yet another one of its valuable forwards. Similar to Neymar's experience, PSG won the game but also lost Edison Cavani due to an injury. PSG is said to have held many tests on Cavani to measure the seriousness of the injury. Coach Thomas Tuchel has affirmed that it would be difficult for Cavani to play in the first Leg. However, he has not confirmed the same for the second leg.
Things are not looking up for PSG. Two injuries have left a void in their formation and attack. Moreover, PSG’s midfielder Marco Verratti may or may not play in the first leg due to an ankle injury. Recently, their loss to Lyon has also given PSG their first taste of defeat and has ended their momentum in the Ligue 1. With Manchester United becoming more and more of a threat by the day partly because of their new manager, PSG will need to have a backup plan ready for action.
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