You're not presented with many chances to get the better of Manchester City, so when a previously unthinkable blip happens in which they win just one in 13, try and make sure you're not that one.

Feyenoord, Juventus and Sporting all capitalised in this competition and as a result, Pep Guardiola's side sit 22nd in the Champions League table. Forget about the top eight finish completely; a spot in the play-offs isn't even guaranteed.

Manchester City have FIVE!

Erling Haaland gets his name on the scoresheet 📋 pic.twitter.com/tLqFQhHGfM
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2025

The 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich at the weekend was the best we've seen City in a while and the unbeaten run now standing at six games suggests that blip is over.

PSG may top Ligue 1 after avoiding defeat across all 18 games so far but that hasn't transferred across to European football. If City's 22nd place in the standings is considered very poor, what do we label Paris' position in 25th?

There's no denying they were dealt a very tricky hand but this is a club who wants to be kings of the continent. Meetings with Arsenal, Atletico and Bayern have all ended in defeat - what suggests this will be any different against another elite outfit?

What are the best bets?

There's a confidence in backing Manchester City once again.

While they may have beaten teams at the lower end of the Premier League table, it's the manner of the victories which have been particularly impressive.

We could back the trend of PSG struggling against other top sides to continue but I prefer the 9/2 on offer for PHIL FODEN 1+ ASSISTS. Prices of 3/1 and above elsewhere are also fine.

CLICK HERE to back Phil Foden 1+ assists with Sky Bet

The City winger scored twice and registered an assist against Ipswich last time out and while that may only have been his second helper of the Premier League season, it should have been more based on the chances he's created.

Foden has created 15 chances for teammates across his last five league starts. In the Champions League, it's at least two in each of his five appearances.

Despite their struggles, City possess the fourth-best attack in this competition, according to the expected goals (xG) data, with 13 scored from 14.70 xG.

They're floating around even money to score at least twice here and if they are to do that, you'd back Foden to have some goal involvement.

Team news

Pep Guardiola is unlikely to make many changes from the weekend

Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos are the two major injury concerns for PSG, although they are likely to be boosted by the return of Ousmane Dembele from illness.

While Khvicha Kvaratskhelia completed a big-money move from Napoli last week, he is unable to feature for the French giants until the knockout stages when they will be able to register him for this competition.

City remain without defensive duo Nathan Ake and John Stones, while Kyle Walker will be left out again as he seeks a move elsewhere.

Guardiola opted for a strong line-up against Ipswich, despite the fact they had this game in midweek, and some early subs there should mean a similar looking XI here.

Predicted line-ups

PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beraldo, Hernandez, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Ruiz; Dembele, Doue, Barcola.

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland.

Match facts

Paris SG have only won one of their seven matches against Manchester City in European competition (D2 L4). Among teams they’ve faced more than five times in Europe, this is their lowest win percentage against any opponent (14%).
Paris SG won their last home match against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, despite attempting just six shots (2-0 in September 2021). This remains the fewest shots they’ve had on record (since 2003-04) in a home match in the competition.
Paris SG won 3-0 against FC Salzburg on MD6, registering as many wins and goals as they had across their previous seven games in the UEFA Champions League (W1 D2 L4). They last won consecutive games in the competition last February when they beat Real Sociedad home and away in the last 16.
This will be the fifth meeting between Paris SG’s Luis Enrique and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, with both winning two games each in the UEFA Champions League. However, along with Jürgen Klopp (2), Luis Enrique is one of only two managers to have beaten Guardiola by 3+ goals on multiple occasions (3-0 in May 2015 and 4-0 in October 2016, both in charge of Barcelona).
Manchester City have lost their last two away UEFA Champions League matches, only one fewer than they’d lost in their previous 28 away games (W16 D9 L3). Only once have they lost more on the bounce, doing so between November 2011 and December 2012 under Roberto Mancini (four).
Paris SG have lost three of their last five UEFA Champions League home matches (W1 D1), as many as in their previous 17 games at the Parc des Princes (W11 D3), while Luis Enrique is the only PSG manager to lose as many as three home games in the competition.
Since the 2019-20 season, Manchester City have lost just three out of 49 UEFA Champions League matches with Rodri in the team (6%, W35 D11), compared to four defeats in 14 games without the Spaniard (29%, W7 D3).
In his first 11 away UEFA Champions League appearances, Erling Haaland scored 11 goals from 33 shots (33% conversion) but across his last 11 away games the Man City forward has scored just four times, with his conversion rate dipping to 10% (four goals from 41 shots).
Only three players have created more chances in this season’s UEFA Champions League than Paris SG’s Achraf Hakimi (16), with the Moroccan assisting two of their three goals against FC Salzburg on MD6 having only registered three assists in his first 32 games in the competition for the French side.
Two of the three players to complete the most passes in the UEFA Champions League this season are Paris SG central defenders Marquinhos (522, 1st) and Willian Pacho (507, 3rd) and they are the only duo to pass the ball 100+ times to one another this season (160 from Pacho to Marquinhos, 139 the other way).

Odds correct at 1640 GMT (20/01/25)

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