Juventus vs PSG Predictions

• Paris Saint-Germain must win to secure first place in the group.
• Juventus have lost 4 of their 5 Champions League matches.
• Kylian Mbappe, who scored twice in PSG’s home win over Juve, wants to finish as the competitions leading scorer.

PSG can pick apart the bones of Bianconeri’s defence

Paris Saint-Germain are hot favourites to get the win that should ensure they finish top of Champions Group H and potentially dispatch hosts Juventus from European competition. PSG need to match or better Benfica’s result in the group’s other game at Maccabi Haifa to clinch top spot and a home second leg in what should be an easier last-16 clash.

And if they can repeat some of the football that they played in hammering Haifa 7-2 last week they could damage Juve’s hopes of squeezing into third place and taking the Europa League consolation prize. Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi both bagged braces in PSG’s pulverisation of the Israeli champions and should retain their hunger for goals here as they seek individual honours.

Messi is now 11 goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s mark of 140 in the list of all-time competition scorers while Mbappe has his eye grabbing this season’s Champions League golden boot.

Mbappe a major threat to Golden Boot rivals

The in-form Frenchman, who has scored five goals in his last three appearances, bagged a double when the Turin giants lost 2-1 at the Parc des Princes in September and will potentially face a weaker Juve defence on Wednesday. The Bianconeri are without two of their three leading central defenders with Bremer injured and Danilo suspended while screening midfielder Leandro Parades is out with a hamstring problem. Further forward, Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria remain sidelined while Federico Chiesa is only now nearing a first-team return after a long spell out.

PSG boss Christophe Galtier has no such problems and should send out an imposing side with enough quality on the bench to rotate later in the game if the points are safe. PSG have won only one of their last five away group games in this competition, but Juventus may be about as weak a team as they have faced during that time.

The Old Lady have scored in eight of their last nine home Champions League games and could do here against a PSG defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 away European games. But the French giants’ ability to score multiple goals, which they have done in 10 of their last 17 away UCL trips, is enough to convince us they can manage three goals here – which should be more than enough to secure top spot as they carry a four-goal advantage over Benfica into this contest.