Culture & Sports
2018.11.28 10:17 GMT+8

Neymar, Mbappe fit to start for PSG in crunch clash

CGTN

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that his superstar duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have shaken off injuries in time to start Wednesday's Champions League clash with Liverpool.

"Neymar and Kylian are fit, they are good and did the full training today and yesterday," Tuchel told a news conference at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday

The German admitted that he was feeling the pressure of the match.

"I feel that in every special match and this is clearly a special match," he said. 

Both Neymar and Mbappe came off injured on international duty last week with Neymar sustaining a right adductor strain, while Mbappe suffered from a bruised right shoulder.

The world's two most expensive players watched PSG's weekend win against Toulouse from the stands as the team extended their record to a 14th straight victory.

A scene from a match between Liverpool and PSG at Anfield, September 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

For his part, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters, "It's much more difficult to prepare for a game when my players don't know the opponents, which happens from time to time." 

Neymar set up Mbappe for one of PSG's goals at Anfield in September, but Liverpool won that game 3-2. 

Klopp's side, therefore, have the upper hand coming to the French capital, where they must again be prepared to handle a duo with 26 goals between them this season.

"They know more about these players in that respect than I do, but they can only shine when they get the ball, so that means we have to defend, close the spaces," Klopp remarked.

With five points, PSG are placed third in a very tight Group C of the Champions League, trailing one point behind from Napoli and Liverpool with two matches remaining.  

That means a win for Liverpool coupled with a victory for Napoli against Red Star Belgrade will take those teams through, condemning PSG to a group-stage exit. 

(With input from Xinhua and AFP)

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