Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain vs Newcastle United! Full strength vs weakened squad, is Newcastle running out of resources?

Today’s first topic isthe Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain vs Newcastle United!

I was initially a bit confused—even though PSG’s recent results haven’t been impressive, why does coach Enrique appear so self-assured?

So I visited PSG’s official website and looked at their most recent medical update,and to my surprise, only Lee Kang-in and Wijnaldum among the substitutes remain injured; all other players are fully fit!

This makes PSG’s current squad quite formidable, no wonder Enrique is so confident.

What exactly is PSG’s lineup situation for tonight?

Five players have returned either from injury or suspension.

Among them, four played in last year’s Champions League final and are considered key players.

With their return,PSG has upgraded from a nearly half-rotation squad used in Lisbon to an almost full-strength lineup, which obviously makes them much stronger.

Moreover, these players are still in good physical condition.

In the previous match against Auxerre, PSG rotated heavily, replacing 6 of the 10 outfield starters—more than half the team.

Mainly because PSG dominates Ligue 1, they don’t worry much about the domestic league.

Other teams struggle with dual competitions, but PSG treats Ligue 1 almost like a recovery phase.

Some players even conserve energy in the league but perform fiercely in the Champions League.

For example, Kylian Mbappé can be 2.2 times more effective in the tougher Champions League matches than in the weaker Ligue 1.

Plus, their main squad over the past two years is the youngest in club history,so they aren’t worried about handling multiple competitions simultaneously.

Newcastle, on the other hand, is different.

The Premier League competition is extremely intense,with only a little over ten points separating relegation-threatened West Ham and Champions League contender Chelsea.The gap in strength is minimal, making it hard to rest players in any match.

We’ve seen thatNewcastle’s starting lineup changed just once in their last two games,and that was forced, as captain Guimarães got injured playing against Eindhoven, so 19-year-old Milly had to fill in.

Note: Why did Newcastle have to put 19-year-old Milly in? The gap between Guimarães and Milly in ability is huge!

There’s no choice; they simply have no one else.

Even if Tonali manages a quick recovery and returns tonight,Newcastle is expected to have 5 to 6 key players missing,so the lineup gap is significant—not because Eddie Howe stubbornly refuses to rotate, but because there really is no one available.

A fact: This season, in league and Champions League matches combined, Newcastle conceded only 10 goals in the first half but a staggering 25 in the second half!

Such a big difference is due to lack of rotation, leading to poor stamina and collapse in the latter stages.

Actually, when Newcastle last visited, although the match ended 1-1, it was very precarious.

PSG’s expected goals (xG) were as high as 4.47, yet Newcastle managed to hold them to just one goal.This is also the match with the largest gap between actual goals and expected goals since statistics began, which involves some element of chance.

At that time, Newcastle was still a solid defensive unit, and Enrique had just started coaching PSG and hadn’t fully gelled the team.

Now PSG is mature, while Newcastle faces significant stamina and squad issues—can they still hold firm?

Will PSG satisfy their fans? What do you all think? We look forward to their strong start!

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will still send you my written insights tonight. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch the game and understand it,” see you then!

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