Champions League
2026-04-28 - Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Semi Final First Leg
Tuesday 28th April 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Paris Saint-Germain
There has been some similarity with the run Paris Saint-Germain are enjoying in the Champions League with the one they put together on their way to winning the competition for the first time last season. Once again they have a Play Off Round win over a domestic opponent before seeing off a couple of Premier League clubs, but it is a Bundesliga one standing between Paris Saint-Germain and the chance to defend the title in Budapest at the end of May.
Winning domestic trophies is par for the course for Paris Saint-Germain and they are looking likely to finish this campaign with another French League title to add to the ever increasing trophy cabinet. However, this is a club that has long been judged on how they perform in the Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain are looking to become the first French club to win two European Cup/Champions League trophies at the conclusion of the campaign. The home Leg in this Semi Final feels important, but PSG have 'only' won 4 of 7 Champions League games played at the Parc des Princes this season.
Paris Saint-Germain have picked up some real momentum and have won 9 of the last 10 games in all competitions, although the exception was a defeat to Lyon in this Stadium. Since the defeat to Monaco at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain have won 4 of 5 games here in all competitions with the defeat to Lyon the exception.
Vitinho is a doubt for the home team, but Fabian Ruiz is available after a long injury layoff. Nuno Mendes and Desire Doue were both back in the squad this weekend and will be expecting to play some part on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich
A couple of decisions favoured Bayern Munich in the Quarter Final win over Real Madrid, but Vincent Kompany will be aware his team need to be a little better all around if they are going to end Paris Saint-Germain's reign as European Champions. The manager will not be on the sidelines for this First Leg as he serves a suspension, but Kompany has to be confident in this group of players to lead Bayern Munich into the first Champions League Final since 2020.
They finished 2nd in the League Phase of the Champions League and the long time Bundesliga creme de la creme made routine work of Atalanta before the 6-4 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the Quarter Final. There is no doubt Bayern Munich will take real encouragement from winning 5 of the 6 away Champions League games played this season, including both away Knock Out ties.
Bayern Munich are unbeaten in 19 games in all competitions and they have won the last 9 in succession to build up some real confidence and momentum ahead of this big Champions League Semi Final. The side have won 5 away games in a row in all competitions and Bayern Munich have showcased the power in the final third by scoring at least twice in each of those, including a 3-4 win at Mainz this past weekend.
Some key players were rested with this Semi Final in mind and Michael Olise and Harry Kane are set to feature from the start, but Serge Gnabry is a doubt.
Head to Head
This is the second time these teams are meeting at the Parc des Princes this season after Bayern Munich won 1-2 here in the League Phase of the Champions League.
Bayern Munich have now beaten Paris Saint-Germain 5 times in a row under the UEFA banner, including in the 2020 Champions League Final.
However, Paris Saint-Germain did beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Club World Cup Quarter Final last summer.
Prediction
The First Leg of any Knock Out tie has the tension around it that can constrict attacking players, but it is really hard to see how that happens when Paris Saint-Germain host Bayern Munich in the French capital on Tuesday night.
Both teams are very good going forward and are led by managers that are not likely to settle before kick off and instead will want Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to impose themselves from the outset.
It is impossible to imagine this is a fixture that is played without any drama- both teams should create some really good chances and they shared out three goals in the League Phase of the competition earlier in the season. On that day it was Bayern Munich who came out and scored two early goals before holding off the hosts with ten men in the second half, but Paris Saint-Germain have been a different beast after Christmas in the last eighteen months.
We have seen signs of that this season as they continue moving forward with the defence of the Champions League won last season and Paris Saint-Germain will want something to protect in Munich next week.
Bayern Munich showed in Madrid how confident they can be getting forward and exploiting spaces and there is simply too much talent on the pitch to think this game lacks goals and goalmouth action.
The layers think the same with over 2.5 goals very short, but an early goal could spark this First Leg and we have seen plenty of goals in fixtures involving these two teams in the Knock Out Rounds over the last two months.
You would have to expect Bayern Munich to not be too gung-ho if they do have a lead, but Paris Saint-Germain will be pushing to have as much of a lead as possible and that should keep this fixture free-flowing and entertaining for the neutrals tuning in.
A narrow edge has to be given to the home team, but Bayern Munich have already shown how strong they can be on their travels in the Knock Out Rounds of the Champions League and continue to score goals for fun.
Either way, the expectation is for plenty of chances to be created and there is more than enough quality in the final third to believe those can be turned into a fair few goals.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Bayern Munich
