Tottenham Hotspur Faces Paris Saint-Germain in Crucial Champions League Match

PARIS, France — Tottenham Hotspur will face Paris Saint-Germain tonight in a pivotal Champions League clash at the Parc des Princes, needing a win to keep their top-eight hopes alive in the group stage.

Kickoff is scheduled for 20:00 GMT, and Spurs enter the game off a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North London derby last weekend. Manager Thomas Frank has made five changes to his lineup, bringing back Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr, and Randal Kolo Muani into the starting XI.

The starting lineup for Tottenham includes Vicario, Richarlison, Gray, Bergvall, Romero (c), Porro, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, van de Ven, and Kolo Muani. Their substitutes for the match are Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Palhinha, Xavi, Udogie, Kudus, Odobert, Davies, Scarlett, T. Thompson, and Williams-Barnett.

The hosts, PSG, will also make strategic adjustments. Their starting XI includes Chevalier, Marquinhos (c), Kvaratskhelia, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Ndjantou, Pacho, and Joao Neves, with substitutes including Safonov, Martin, Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Dembele, Lee, Hernandez, Mayulu, and Mbaye.

Despite their recent struggles domestically, PSG is currently at the top of Ligue 1 and secured a 3-0 victory over Le Havre on Sunday. Their attacking prowess has been evident, scoring 14 goals in their first four Champions League matches.

Spurs have had a rocky campaign, sitting tenth in the Premier League. However, they remain unbeaten in the Champions League with their last game resulting in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Villarreal. The team has drawn with Bodø/Glimt and Monaco in previous away games.

“We can’t afford to lose if we want to progress,” Frank stated during the pre-match briefing. “PSG are a strong team, but we need to focus on our game plan and execute it well.”

Achraf Hakimi will be missed for PSG due to an ankle injury sustained in their last Champions League match. In his absence, Warren Zaïre-Emery is expected to step up for the right-back position.

With the stakes high, Tottenham hopes to replicate their resilience shown in August’s UEFA Super Cup, where they took a 2-0 lead against PSG before ultimately losing on penalties.