Paris Saint-Germain and SL Benfica meet again on Tuesday with top spot in Group H up for grabs after last week’s 1-1 draw in Lisbon. The French champions will be without star man Lionel Messi once more due to the calf issue which the legendary Argentine picked up at Estadio da Luz last week. Juventus could turn up the heat on both sides with the Italian giants’ clash with Maccabi Haifa coming before kick-off at Parc des Princes.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, Oct. 11 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Parc des Princes — Paris
- TV and live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: PSG -250; Draw +400; Benfica +600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Paris vs. Benfica
Storylines
PSG: Christophe Galtier’s men were held to a goalless draw over the weekend by Stade de Reims after Sergio Ramos’ red card meant that they played over half of the game with 10 men. With no Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will be expected to step up with the French superstar the subject of further controversy due to his perceived unhappiness at playing a different role with PSG to the one he occupies with France. Despite that, the Reims draw opened a three-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit ahead of this weekend’s Classique against bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille.
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Benfica: Roger Schmidt’s side got back to winning ways with a 4-2 thumping of Rio Ave to keep a three-point advantage at the top of the Primeira Liga. However, last week was the ideal opportunity to seize control of their UCL group so they must now do it the hard way. Both sides are unbeaten this season and one of those records could fall on Tuesday.
Prediction
Pick: PSG 2-1 Benfica. This one is likely to be tight again and should feature both sides scoring, but the hosts will probably shade it by virtue of home advantage. This would be a sizable hiccup if Les Parisiens were to not take all three points with Group H approaching an important juncture which could dictate whether Juve still have a shot at emerging from the group. Messi’s absence is a blow but Galtier has a handful of issues to contend with as the defense remains leaky.