PSG vs. Atletico Madrid lineups, odds: Where to watch Champions League, live stream, pick, prediction

Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid meet at Parc des Princes on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League with both struggling so far this League Phase and in need of a win. Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone know each other well despite this being PSG and Atleti’s first-ever competitive meeting and the Spaniard has the edge over his Argentine counterpart with nine wins to three. Now would be an ideal time to extend that record with Les Parisiens below expectations so far with four points from a possible nine and the Spanish outfit averaging just one point per game to occupy an elimination spot as things stand.

PSG under Luis Enrique have six wins from 15 continental outings for a win ratio of 40% which is alarmingly low compared with other Paris bosses who have coached at least 10 UCL games with the French giants. Granted that this is a young team and certainly one of the most untested among the elite but their domestic form remains dominant with the Ligue 1 leaders unbeaten and six points clear in the French topflight having won eight of 10 Championnat games so far.

Atleti will be the 10th Spanish team that PSG have come up against in continental competition and Lille OSC put paid to Simeone’s unbeaten record against French sides earlier this year. A 3-1 win away at Feyenoord last season is the only away win that Los Colchoneros have managed over their past 10 Champions League road games which is a run that also features seven losses. A knockout round place like nine of their last 11 campaigns is far from guaranteed so Simeone needs to deliver at least a top 24 finish which is not the case at present due to goal difference. Domestically, though, Atletico are third in the table and beat Las Palmas 2-0 over the weekend.

Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:

How to watch and odds

• Date: Wednesday, Nov. 6 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Parc des Princes — Paris, France
• Watch: Paramount+
• Odds: PSG -138; Draw +280; Atletico +400

UCL so far

PSG opened with a narrow and fortuitous 1-0 win over debutants Girona FC before losing 2-0 away at Arsenal and being held to a 1-1 home draw by PSV Eindhoven. The latter result is arguably the most problematic as it heaps the pressure on here before a trip to fellow strugglers Bayern Munich who also badly need points. Les Parisiens have scored 12 of their last 14 UCL goals in the second half and are three points off of the top eight which would offer an automatic round-of-16 berth. Atleti going down 3-1 to LOSC was a second straight Champions League loss after a 4-0 thrashing by Benfica despite opening with a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig. There has only been one other occasion where Atletico have lost three consecutive games at the top level of European soccer so embattled Simeone will be on a mission to avoid that in Paris.

Team news

PSG: Gianluigi Donnarumma was replaced by Matvey Safonov and Marco Asensio came into the XI along with Fabian Ruiz for the win over Lens. Ousmane Dembele should start on the right with Bradley Barcola on the left but Asensio is not guaranteed to get the start through the middle. Goncalo Ramos, Presnel Kimpembe and Atleti youth academy graduate Lucas Hernandez are all out for this one.

Possible PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Lee, Barcola.

Atletico: Giuliano Simeone will hope to start but Antoine Griezmann, Angel Correa and Alexander Sorloth are all in the mix as well. Julian Alvarez has 13 goal involvements from 20 UCL appearances but he has scored just once and assisted one more across eight away games. Robin Le Normand, Marcos Llorente and Cesar Azpilicueta are all injured while Thomas Lemar is a doubt although Pablo Barrios could feature.

Possible Atletico XI: Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Barrios, Lino; Alvarez, Griezmann.

Prediction

It is a huge game for both sides as Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone both need a win. The French giants look more convincing given their chances wasted to beat opponents but their Spanish visitors are under pressure after two defeats. This one should be fairly tense but PSG should just about have enough to emerge victorious for a second League Phase win. Pick: PSG 2, Atletico 1.