Bayern Munich vs PSG: Champions League – preview, team news, start, lineups

Who: Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain
What: Champions League semifinal, 2nd leg
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
When: Wednesday astatine 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT successful beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.

PSG caput to Munich for the 2nd limb of their semifinal against Bayern connected Wednesday, defending a 5-4 pb from an unthinkable archetypal gathering that was 1 of the greatest matches successful the competition’s history.

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Some of the game’s starring attackers were fixed escaped rein to spell for the jugular arsenic the lucifer became the highest-scoring Champions League semifinal limb of each time, and some managers person promised to treble down connected their attack successful the 2nd leg.

The rewards for a semifinal triumph are a spot successful the last connected May 30 astatine the Puskas Arena successful Budapest against either Arsenal oregon Atletico Madrid.

What happened successful the archetypal leg?

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele scored doubly each arsenic Paris Saint-Germain bushed Bayern Munich 5-4 successful an extraordinary encounter.

The archetypal fractional unsocial past Tuesday nighttime was wild, with Harry Kane giving Bayern the pb from a penalty, lone for Kvaratskhelia to equalise earlier Joao Neves headed the hosts successful beforehand astatine an enthralled Parc des Princes.

Michael Olise made it 2-2, but a Dembele punishment successful first-half stoppage clip had the reigning champions backmost up astatine the interval.

Kvaratskhelia and Dembele past some scored again to enactment PSG seemingly retired of sight, lone for Dayot Upamecano to propulsion 1 backmost earlier Luis Diaz made it 5-4.

Kvaratskhelia, left, and Desire Doue aft scoring PSG’s archetypal extremity past week [Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP]

Kompany promises much fireworks

Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has pledged to instrumentality with his high-octane, high-risk attack arsenic the German champions and six-time European Cup winners look to blast their mode to the final.

“I besides would beryllium gladsome to support a cleanable sheet, but what we perfectly cannot bash is suffer what made america strong,” Kompany said.

He added, “PSG were ne'er going to alteration the benignant that won them the Champions League past year.

“We travel into the lucifer arsenic the squad that has won the astir games and scored the astir goals successful Europe.

“Is anyone going to instrumentality a backward step? Nobody volition judge that.”

Kompany reacts during a Bundesliga crippled against Heidenheim astatine the play [Angelika Warmuth/Reuters]

‘We person to win’

Already Bundesliga champions, Bayern person scored 116 goals successful 32 games – a grounds successful the league and among the champion anyplace successful Europe.

Their attacking attack does permission them vulnerable, however. The Bavarians person conceded 16 goals successful their past six games, with conscionable 1 cleanable sheet.

After Bayern came from 2-0 and 3-2 down to gully 3-3 with Heidenheim connected Saturday, with an Olise extremity successful the 10th infinitesimal of stoppage time, Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich besides promised much of the aforesaid against PSG.

“We’re not going to alteration our benignant of play successful 3 days and conscionable beryllium backmost and defend,” Kimmich said.

“We person to win, careless of whether it’s different 5-4, a 3-2, oregon a 1-0 victory.”

Luis Enrique takes PSG to brink of different final

If PSG tin spot disconnected a superb Bayern team, Luis Enrique volition beryllium a measurement person to becoming conscionable the 5th manager to triumph 3 European Cups oregon Champions Leagues, aft Carlo Ancelotti, Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola.

“It was the champion crippled I person been fortunate capable to beryllium progressive successful arsenic a coach,” Luis Enrique said aft past week’s archetypal leg.

He nevertheless believes his broadside volition request to people different 3 goals astatine the Allianz Arena to spot disconnected the German champions.

Enrique and his broadside request not look excessively acold backmost for inspiration – their past sojourn to Munich ended successful PSG hammering Inter Milan 5-0 successful past season’s last arsenic they won the Champions League for the archetypal clip successful their history.

His broadside besides basal connected the verge of different Ligue 1 rubric arsenic they pb second-placed Lens by six points with 3 games near to play – though their fiscal vantage implicit the remainder of France’s clubs makes that acold little remarkable.

“Last season, we achieved the nonsubjective that everyone astir america had been dreaming of,” said the Spaniard connected the eve of this campaign.

“But we privation to proceed making history, and that present means winning 2 Champions Leagues successful a row.”

Luis Enrique gestures during a crippled against FC Lorient connected May 2, 2026 [AFP]

How did PSG scope the semifinals?

Dembele ⁠struck twice ⁠to corroborate PSG’s spot successful the past 4 ⁠with a 2-0 triumph implicit Liverpool, sealing a 4-0 aggregate ⁠win astatine a rain-soaked Anfield.

How did Bayern scope the semifinals?

Diaz and ⁠Olise scored ⁠late goals to springiness the hosts a dramatic 4-3 win over Real Madrid ⁠in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals and nonstop them into the past 4 connected a 6-4 aggregate people aft a thrilling tie.

Head-to-head

The 2 clubs person played each different 17 times and person ne'er drawn – Bayern won 9 of those games, portion PSG won eight.

Last 5 encounters:

• April 28, 2026: PSG 5-4 Bayern Munich (Champions League semifinal)
• November 4, 2025: PSG 1-2 Bayern Munich (Champions League, league phase)
• July 5, 2025: PSG 2-0 Bayern Munich (Club World Cup quarterfinal)
• November 26, 2024: Bayern 1-0 PSG (Champions League, league phase)
• March 8, 2023: Bayern 2-0 PSG (Champions League, past 16)

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane successful enactment with PSG’s Marquinhos [Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters]

When were Bayern and PSG crowned European champions?

Bayern won European Cup/Champions League titles successful 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, and 2020.

The Bavarians bushed PSG 1-0 successful the 2020 last done a 59th-minute extremity scored by erstwhile PSG subordinate Kingsley Coman.

PSG won their lone Champions League rubric past season.

Stellar semifinals

Champions League semifinals are often much memorable than the rubric matches.

One twelvemonth ago, an breathtaking Inter Milan-Barcelona contention was arsenic wide praised arsenic the PSG-Bayern opener. A 3-3 archetypal limb successful Barcelona was conscionable an appetiser for Inter’s rollercoaster 4-3 triumph successful other clip astatine San Siro.

In 2022, Real Madrid someway rallied successful stoppage clip of the 2nd limb to contradict Manchester City victory. Madrid won 3-1 successful other time. The chaotic archetypal limb went 4-3 to City successful Manchester.

A vintage knockout signifier successful 2019 was capped by astonishing comebacks connected back-to-back nights successful the semifinal 2nd legs by Liverpool against Barcelona and Tottenham astatine Ajax.

Bayern’s squad news

There person been nary caller reported wounded issues for the 2nd leg, with Serge Gnabry and Raphael Guerreiro some antecedently ruled retired done thigh and hamstring injuries, respectively.

Teenage prima Lennart Karl whitethorn person recovered capable from a torn thigh musculus to diagnostic astatine immoderate point.

Predicted starting XI:

Neuer (goalkeeper); Stanisic, Upamecano, Tah, Davies; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Diaz; Kane

PSG’s squad news

In a large stroke to the Parisians, cardinal right-back Achraf Hakimi suffered a hamstring wounded successful the archetypal leg, which is acceptable to support him retired of enactment for respective weeks. Warren Zaire-Emery is acceptable to capable successful for the Moroccan.

PSG volition besides beryllium without second-choice goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier owed to a manus injury.

But speech from these 2 absentees, Luis Enrique appears to person a afloat squad to take from.

Predicted starting XI:

Safonov (goalkeeping); Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia