Thomas Tuchel revealed his starting XI for Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League clash against Club Brugge and there is one glaring decision that could backfire on the German manager.
After revealing yesterday during his pre-match press conference that Kylian Mbappé cannot play a full 90 minutes, Tuchel decided to move Angel Di Maria to the right-wing and start Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Here we go! Tonight's starting XI 📋 #CLUPSG
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 22, 2019
The former Stoke City man is a bit of a surprise considering Tuchel has Mbappé, Edinson Cavani, and Pablo Sarabia on the bench. It’s unclear why he is willing to gamble with Choupo-Moting when he could go with a front line of Di Maria-Icardi-Sarabia or Di Maria-Icardi-Mbappé.
The Frenchman may not be able to play a full match but he should be able to play at least 45 minutes if he’s on the bench. He could help get a quick lead and then PSG can cruise from there. Instead, Mbappé will go through all of the pre-match drills and stretch his hamstring out and then sit on the bench until around the 60-70 minute mark when Tuchel will call on him. That is a recipe for re-aggravating his hamstring injury.
Choupo-Moting could work out. He wouldn’t be my choice given the other personnel available to him but he has scored three goals and recorded an assist in nine appearances.
The rest of Tuchel’s lineup is about what you would expect. With Idrissa Gueye out injured, the midfield will be Marco Verratti, Marquinhos, and Ander Herrera.
On defense, Juan Bernat starts after being suspended for PSG’s last game against OGC Nice. Thomas Meunier starts against his old club and Presnel Kimpembe and Thiago Silva start at center-back. Keylor Navas is in goal.
Tuchel has a lot of talent on his bench. It will be interesting to watch how the match plays out and when he decides to bring on Mbappé and if Cavani features at all.
Let us know what you think of the starting XI on Twitter @PSGTalk.
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