Warren Ashurst’s tips for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg clash include another key contribution from PSG star Desire Doue.
Villa Park will be rocking for Tuesday’s big Champions League encounter, but the hosts have it all to do if they are going to make the last four.
PSG head to the Midlands having won 3-1 in last week’s first leg, when the French champions racked up 29 shots and 58 touches inside the Villa penalty area.
The Premier League outfit are unbeaten in their last 17 games at home in all competitions, so will make their opponents work for their last-four spot. Here are our football betting selections, which form a 14/1 Bet Builder.
Aston Villa v PSG tips
Over 2.5 Goals /
Desire Doue to score or assist /
Nuno Mendes to be carded /
Goals on the agenda
Having already secured the Ligue 1 title, PSG had a free weekend to prepare for the quarter-final and will be fresh and raring to go.
Only Barcelona and Bayern Munich have scored more goals than the French champions in this season’s Champions League, with Luis Enrique’s men finding the net 28 times in their 13 matches to date.
The visitors have an impressive record on the road, having won their last 16 away games in all competitions, with nine of those encounters having over 3.5 goals.
Villa are also a big threat in front of goal, with Unai Emery’s squad having found the net in each of their last 15 matches at Villa Park.
Emery’s men have kept just two clean sheets in their last 13 home matches and those came in the FA Cup against Cardiff and versus Brugge in Europe.
Doue the man in form
Teenage star Desire Doue has impressed all season and the France international has been on fire in recent weeks.
The former Rennes forward, who cost €50million, has eight goals in all competitions, including three in the Champions League.
Doue has found the net four times in the last three games and the 19-year-old scored the equaliser in the first leg, after Morgan Rogers had put Villa in front.
The PSG attacker has also got four Champions League assists to his name in 12 matches played this season.
Mendes has hands full with Rogers
Another player to have caught the eye in PSG’s Champions League run has been Nuno Mendes, who some pundits have described as the best left-back in Europe.
The Portuguese ace showed he can have an impact going forward as well, when scoring the third goal of the first leg in stoppage time.
Mendes kept Mohamed Salah’s influence to a minimum in the last round and will now be asked to quash the threat of Morgan Rogers.
Rogers scored in Paris and has the ability to drift inside and leave full-backs wondering whether to follow him or pass him on to a centre back.
Mendes has been cautioned three times in this year’s competition and has committed 22 fouls in 12 matches.