PSG will be exposed without Neymar and Edinson Cavani in Champions League showdown at Old Trafford
- Manchester United have as much chance of winning as PSG do on Tuesday
- French champions would have the edge if Neymar and Edinson Cavani were fit
- Paul Pogba has been brilliant lately and will be the player PSG fear the most
Manchester United host Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will be boosted by the absence of two of PSG’s attacking trident, with Neymar and Edinson Cavani ruled out through injury.
Sportsmail columnist CHRIS SUTTON looks at the key talking-points ahead of this week’s first leg…
PSG would have the edge if Neymar (pictured) or Edinson Cavani were fit on Tuesday night
PSG remain a talented team despite the absence of two of their three star forwards
When the draw for the Champions League last 16 was made in December and Manchester United were paired with Paris Saint-Germain, you thought: ‘No chance’. Not with Jose Mourinho as manager and the way they were playing.
Now, the fact that they have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and with PSG set to be without two key players in Neymar and Edinson Cavani, United have as good a chance of winning this game as the French giants do. It’s 50-50.
Had Neymar and Cavani been available, you’d give them the edge. PSG remain a talented team without those two, but this is a boost for United.
With the way they are playing under Solskjaer, with such confidence, they can pull off a first-leg win which we never would have imagined was possible under Mourinho.
Paul Pogba has been utterly brilliant lately and is the player that PSG will fear the most
Paul Pogba is the player that PSG will fear the most. Some of the passes he has pulled off and goals he has scored of late have been utterly brilliant.
He seems up for every match at the moment, no matter who he faces.
The midfielder will not need any extra motivation for this clash, of course.
This is a meeting between one of France’s stand-out stars from their World Cup triumph and the French champions.
We all know the scrutiny that Pogba has been under. There were questions about his attitude after the fall-out with his old boss Mourinho.
Under Solskjaer, though, he has gone from strength to strength.
Ole will go all out for win
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not park the bus at Old Trafford just because PSG are in town
Solskjaer has shown he has got more about him than just being a nice guy who knows how to put smiles on the faces of his players. There is more about United defensively these days — they know how to see things through.
He has also made tactical tweaks, such as telling Jesse Lingard to act as a false nine on occasion.
United travel to the French capital on March 6 but on Tuesday night at Old Trafford they have the chance to put one foot in the quarter-finals.
Will Solskjaer go for the win? I think so. It’s the only way he knows.
He would not have them park the bus just because PSG are coming to town. He is a winner.
