Obviously, PSG does not approach this first round of the quarter-finals of the Champions League in Munich in a very favorable position.
The absence of Icardi in attack, Florenzi and Kurzawa in defense and especially Verratti and Paredes in midfield, will hamper the performance of the team, as much as the defeat against Lille may weigh on morale.
But this team has the resources, and enough talent, to believe in qualifying for the next round.
His performance against Barça in the round of 16 proved it.
Here are five reasons to believe in a Parisian feat against the defending champion.
PSG will have chances.
Against Bayern Munich, PSG will evolve against a team that likes to have possession of the ball.
In the last Champions League final, the Germans won the midfield battle holding the ball 61 percent of the time.
The problem could be the same for Pochettino and his men on Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena with Verratti's injury and Covid concomitant with Paredes' suspension.
But this configuration against a resolutely offensive team should offer solutions to the Parisian attackers behind the defense.
This was already the case last August, unfortunately Mbappé and Neymar were in an evening without, and Neuer had been irresistible.
But the situations should once again arise.
Collective energy.
Before the first leg at Camp Nou in February, questions about the level of play were legion and legitimate with regard to the production of Pochettino's men in Ligue 1. But there is a world between the championship and the Champions League in terms technique, commitment and rhythm.
For competitors like the stars of PSG, this competition is the ground of their exploits.
An appointment in full view of the whole world that should not be missed.
In Barcelona, Marquinhos partners drew on their resources and found the necessary motivation to achieve historic success.
At the Parc des Princes, it was Koeman's men who, in a swing back, sublimated themselves to offer a very high level first half.
It's hard to imagine that in Munich, Parisians are running out of this collective energy.
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Arrows in attack.
With Mbappé and Neymar in its ranks, Paris Saint-Germain has no shortage of individual talents.
Men capable of sublimating themselves during major meetings, as the Frenchman demonstrated again with his hat-trick at Camp Nou.
Certainly the Brazilian does not approach this quarter-final to go in the form of his life.
After almost two months of hiatus, his sad performance against Lille last Saturday highlighted an obvious lack of pace.
Mbappé, too, is not going through a good period with an efficiency at half mast in the last four games, selection included.
But these two, to which we can add Di Maria or Kean (it remains to be seen if they will be lined up together at kickoff) can strike at any time.
In the final, PSG had more on target than Bayern (3 shots against 2).
It remains this time to be effective.
Stronger on the way back.
Unlike the Final 8 in Lisbon, the quarter-finals have returned to their initial format with round-trip matches.
This necessarily changes the situation since PSG will receive their opponent in a week at the Parc des Princes, admittedly empty, but this can not be presented as a disadvantage.
We know that these double confrontation rounds can lead to matches with radically different physiognomies.
A defeat, even large in the first leg, is never synonymous with elimination.
Paris paid to find out.
And Liverpool or Roma have been able to recover very unfavorable scores against Barça in recent years.
Especially since next April 13, Paris should recover vitality with the scheduled returns of Verratti, Paredes and possibly Florenzi.
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Lewandowski, a major absentee.
Coaches rarely like to point out absences from opposing teams before matches. Still, the package of Robert Lewandowski is nothing anecdotal on the Bayern side, and weighs as much as the absence of Verratti in the ranks of PSG. With the Pole, we are talking about the top scorer of last season in Europe (55 goals), already 42 goals this year including 5 in the Champions League. Bayern have alternatives in attack, but none of Lewandowski's level even less at the center-forward position where Choupo-Moting replaced him last weekend in Leipzig (1-0 victory for the Munich). His package does not allow the foundations to be laid for a Parisian feat. But it is a less weighty asset on the Munich side, and that cannot harm PSG.
