The first Champions League finalist of the 2023/24 season will be unveiled tonight as Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund play the second leg of their semi-final at the Parc des Princes in France.
The German side, underdogs before the first leg took place, will now be the favorites to progress following Niclas Fullkrug's decisive goal at Signal Iduna Park a week ago. On a night where both teams created and missed a plethora of chances, Dortmund took the lead in the draw thanks to a 1-0 win and will take a slender lead to Paris.
However, the French champions will believe they can overturn the deficit and stage a comeback that will send them to Wembley at the end of the month. They have one of the best footballers in the world in Kylian Mbappe and Luis Enrique's team will be encouraged by the chances they have managed to create away from home. With the crowd on their side this night, there's every chance they could get upset.
Follow all the Champions League action below and get the latest PSG vs Dortmund odds and tips hereParis Saint Germain vs Borussia Dortmund
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PSG will host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals, with kick-off at 8 p.m.
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Dortmund have a 1-0 aggregate lead after Niclas Fullkrug's winning goal in Germany
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Paris without Lucas Hernandez after he tore his cruciate ligament during the first leg
Enrique on getting support from PSG fans:
"The role of the supporters will be as important tomorrow as it has been all season and I have no doubt they will be fully behind us.
"In Dortmund the atmosphere was incredible and we expect the same tomorrow at the Parc des Princes, hoping that we can all celebrate together in the end."
Luis Enrique explains PSG's sole focus for tonight's match:
"The goal is not to win by two goals, but to win," Enrique said. "If you think you have to score two goals, that seems like a big goal.
"We just want to play and score. If we score in the 89th minute, it will continue. We don't have to score immediately, we just want to win the match."
The story continues
Paris Saint-Germain is confident they can win
Marquinhos said his team is confident they can get a result tonight and reach the Champions League final:
"The confidence we have comes from the work we have done all season. It doesn't necessarily come from the result of the first leg, but more from our previous efforts, from the preparation and from the atmosphere we know the supporters will create. in the Parc des Princes.
"Dortmund is a big rival and it will be a very difficult match."
Marquinhos on improvement after first leg defeat:
"We have to impose our style, the one we have had since the start of the season. We will give everything to play a good match and create chances, just like in the second half of the first leg.
"We have worked a lot and we know the details that need to be improved."
PSG defender Marquinhos previews tonight's match:
"Our experience will be important in this match. The coach knows how to manage these kinds of games, and we have to approach it with good energy to play at our best.
"Every match and every season has its own story."
Who will reach the Champions League final?
There is now a very real chance that Borussia Dortmund will reach their first final since 2013, when they lost to Bayern Munich.
This season's showpiece event is, as in 2013, at Wembley and their opponents could once again be domestic rivals Bayern.
However, PSG will do everything they can to avoid this outcome as they continue their quest for an elusive first Champions League crown.
The closest they have come so far was defeat in the 2020 showpiece, when they lost 1-0 to Bayern.
What happened in the first stage?
Borussia Dortmund claimed a 1-0 win in the first leg thanks to Niclas Fullkrug's fine first-half finish, a rare glimmer of quality on a night that promised much but delivered less in terms of goals scored.
Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi were both denied by the woodwork as Paris pushed for an equalizer, but Dortmund clung to pole position ahead of the return.
"That's football," said Parisian coach Luis Enrique after the match. "Sometimes it's great, and other times it goes like this. We will have to analyze the chances that both teams create."
Where is the 2024 Champions League final?
The European champions will be crowned at the end of the 2023/24 Champions League season, with the final to be held at the prestigious Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday 1 June.
The winners will receive a place in the group stages of the 2024/25 Champions League, if they have not qualified through their domestic competition.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzić, before the match:
'You have to earn your way to Wembley. All we need now is a draw in the second leg, but we also want to win.
"We have a small lead and a good chance. We have to do everything together - with a good plan, with a good idea. Paris will definitely be better than last week.
"We want to earn this ticket for the final. We will tackle this together."
Pre-match thoughts from PSG coach Luis Enrique
"The aim is to reach the final, and to achieve that we have to be better than a great team like Dortmund. There is always room for improvement and we have been working on that.
"Two goals can be scored in three seconds, but we can also concede two goals in that time. 'On va a gagner'. It's the only sentence I know in French:
"We are going to win."
The contradiction at the heart of Borussia Dortmund's unlikely Champions League fairytale
Germany's fifth best team is among the four best in Europe. In one respect anyway. Welcome to the confusing world of Borussia Dortmund, at their highest point in the continental competition for more than a decade and heading for their lowest Bundesliga finish in nine years.
The surprising Champions League semi-finalists gained more than just a lead in the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain last week. In a world of coefficient calculations, their victory made it mathematically certain that Germany will have five places in next year's Champions League. And Dortmund are fifth, unlikely to finish higher and guaranteed not to finish lower.
The alternative method for next season's Champions League, which had long sounded too unlikely to deploy, involves winning this year's competition.
Now Dortmund are one draw and one win away from a triumph that would be a throwback: to the days when they were the underdogs who won the final in 1997, or to 1982 and 2005 when Aston Villa and Liverpool could reach 30 and 37 points . respectively chasing the winners of their national competitions and still conquering Europe. At some 24 points off the pace in Germany, Dortmund are not the best team in North Rhine-Westphalia, let alone in Europe. And yet they are two results of a glory that few envisioned.
The contradiction at the heart of Dortmund's unlikely Champions League fairytale
PSG vs Dortmund prediction
Borussia Dortmund managed to win the first leg, although they could only score one goal at Signal Iduna Park, which may come back to haunt them tonight.
PSG 2-0 Dortmund (2-1 aggregate).It will be a different and difficult atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, which should encourage PSG to go on the attack. If Dortmund can score, they will be the favorites to progress, but the most likely scenario is that the home side will reduce the deficit and break through with the help of a clean sheet.
PSG vs Dortmund predicted lineups
PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz; Dembélé, Mbappé, Barcola
Dortmund XI: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Kan, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Brandt, Sancho; Full back
What's the early team news?
PSG will be without Lucas Hernandez, who tore his cruciate ligament in the first leg and is therefore ruled out for this summer's European Championship. Presnell Kimbembe also remains out, meaning Brazil international Lucas Beraldo is likely to come into defense and Nuno Mendes will face Jadon Sancho again.
Borussia Dortmund could be unchanged from the first leg. Julien Duranville and Ramy Bensebaini are out, but have no other fitness problems.
How to watch PSG vs Dortmund
The match starts at 8pm BST (9pm local) at Parc des Princes, Paris.
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Good afternoon!
Welcome to That of the Independents coverage of the Champions League action tonight as the semi-finals continue with the second leg of Paris Saint-Germain's match against Borussia Dortmund.
Tonight's meeting takes place at the Parc des Princes in Paris, with Dortmund taking a slim one-goal lead into the match following Niclas Fullkrug's winning goal a week ago.
The match at Signal Iduna Park saw both teams create and miss many chances in an open affair that could have gone either way had the forwards been more clinical. Dortmund were cheered on by the Yellow Wall of supporters a week ago, but tonight they will face PSG's home fans who will believe a comeback is on the horizon.
Paris defender Lucas Hernandez will miss the match due to a torn cruciate ligament, but Luis Enrique's side will be more than ready to overturn their deficit and make a run for the final at Wembley.
We'll have all the updates, team news and live action all evening, so stick around as we build up to kick off at 8pm.
