Paris Saint Germain vs Atalanta

The French champions come into this season’s competition as holders after their emphatic 5-0 win over Inter in last season’s final – the biggest margin of victory ever recorded in a European Cup or Champions League showpiece. This encounter will be only the second meeting between PSG and Atalanta in Europe’s premier club competition. The two sides first met in the 2019-20 quarter-final, played as a one-off tie due to the pandemic. On that occasion, PSG came from behind to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory and progress to the semi-finals. That result remains a painful memory for the Italians and provides extra motivation as they prepare for another showdown with the Parisians. However, history heavily favours PSG over the Italian opposition. In their last 11 encounters with Serie A sides in European competition, the French outfit have suffered just a single defeat – a 2-1 loss to AC Milan in November 2023. That strong record underlines PSG’s dominance in these matchups, one they would be keen to extend in front of their home supporters. On the touchline, Luis Enrique brings a wealth of European pedigree. The Spaniard has overseen 62 matches in the Champions League, winning 64.5% of them – the best win rate of any coach with more than 50 games in the competition. In addition, Champions League holders also tend to make strong starts in their title defences. Remarkably, only one of the last 30 winners of the tournament has lost their opening match of the following campaign. That sole defeat came in 2019-20, when Liverpool were beaten 2-0 away to Napoli. PSG will be keen to avoid any such slip-ups when they appear with the 4—3—3 formation, having Bradley Barcola, Ramos and Ibrahim Mbaye in attack.

Atalanta, meanwhile, arrive as dangerous outsiders. New manager Ivan Jurić will be making his debut as a manager in the Champions League, with his only prior European experience being last season’s Europa League run with Roma. His tactical discipline and attacking philosophy could unsettle PSG, but this represents a massive leap in quality. However, rallying his team, at least on the domestic front, has not been what he bargained for. La Dea’s early season credentials are far from impressive following back-to-back opening draws, though a silver lining appeared at the weekend in the shape of a 4-1 win over Lecce. Juric will be hoping his side can build on that momentum when he deploys the 3—4—2—1 formation with Nikola Krstović in attack. Meanwhile, the situation with Ademola Lookman remains a source of concern for Ivan Jurić.