Lionel Messi's PSG faces a dangerous RB Leipzig side that has ground to make up at the midway point of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Parisian side is undefeated and sitting in first place after the first two matches, but Leipzig is at the bottom and desperate to pick up its first points.
PSG has only suffered one loss in its past 12 matches across all competitions, and so a win at the Parc des Princes will be a difficult proposition for Leipzig. The good news for the German side coached by American Jesse Marsch is that Neymar (adductor), Angel Di Maria (suspension), Mauro Icardo (coach's decision) and Leandro Paredes (quad) will all miss out for PSG.
Another American, midfielder Tyler Adams, is expected to feature in the match after being rested over the weekend. Leipzig's star of the first two months of the season is former PSG academy product Christopher Nkunku, who scored a hat trick against Manchester City in the group-stage opener. He has stayed hot with nine goals in 11 appearances across all competitions.
MORE: Champions League group standings and schedule
These two sides have some recent history between them: This is the third straight Champions League tournament in which they will meet. Each team won its home game in last edition's group stage, while PSG came out on top in the 2020 Champions League semifinals.
Sporting News will be following the event live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
PSG vs. RB Leipzig live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| PSG | — | — | — |
| RB Leipzig | — | — | — |
Goals:
(All times Eastern)
2:05 p.m. ET: Look who's on hand for the match in Paris: Ex-PSG star Ronaldinho.
🗣💬 "Pour moi c'est beaucoup d'émotions d'être au Parc. Les gens sont encore très aimables avec moi"
— After Foot RMC (@AfterRMC) October 19, 2021
🇧🇷 Ronaldinho est en direct dans l'After. Et en Français s'il vous plaît #RMCLive pic.twitter.com/lfTSH29K3K
PSG vs. RB Leipzig: Starting lineups
Without Neymar (adductor) and Angel Di Maria (suspended), manager Mauricio Pochettino would normally be expected to field Mauro Icardi at center forward flanked by Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. But the personal issues that forced Icardi to miss a couple of training sessions have also cost him a spot in the squad. Julian Draxler will team up with Mbappe and Messi on the forward line.
PSG starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Keylor Navas-GK — 25-Nuno Mendes, 3-Presnel Kimpembe, 5-Marquinhos, 2-Achraf Hakimi — 27-Idrissa Gueye, 6-Marco Verratti, 21-Ander Herrera — 23-Julian Draxler, 7-Kylian Mbappe, 30-Lionel Messi
PSG subs (10): 50-Gigi Donnarumma-GK, 60-Alexandre Letellier, 24-Thilo Kehrer, 22-Abdou Diallo, 20-Layvin Kurzawa, 17-Collin Dagba, 39-Nathan Bitumazala, 15-Danilo Pereira, 18-Georginio Wijnaldum, 28-Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe
Interesting changes introduced by RB Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch, who has switched up the forward trio. Instead of the usual Forsberg-Poulsen-Nkunku line, he gives Andre Silva the start. Tyler Adams is also back in the starting lineup after being rested over the weekend.
RB Leipzig starting lineup (3-4-3, left to right): 1-Peter Gulacsi-GK — 16-Lukas Klostermann, 4-Willi Orban, 2-Mohamed Simakan — 3-Angelino, 27-Konrad Laimer, 8-Amadou Haidara, 14-Tyler Adams — 22-Nordi Mukiele, 33-Andre Silva, 18-Christopher Nkunku
RB Leipzig subs (8): 31-Josep Martinez-GK, 32-Josko Gvardiol, 39-Benjamin Heinrichs, 44-Kevin Kampl, 17-Dominik Szoboszlai, 26-Ilaix Moriba, 10-Emil Forsberg, 9-Yussuf Poulsen
How to watch PSG vs. RB Leipzig
- Date: Tues, Oct. 19
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: none
- Streaming (USA): Paramount+, PrendeTV
- Streaming (Canada): DAZN
Lionel Messi's third Champions League match with Paris Saint-Germain will be available only via streaming. Paramount+ will have the English-language stream of the match, while Univision's free streaming platform PrendeTV will carry the Spanish-language broadcast.
DAZN has the UEFA Champions League rights in Canada and will stream the match for subscribers.