STAR SPORTS DESK

A mouthwatering showdown awaits in Paris tonight as reigning champions PSG host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, with two of Europe’s most potent attacks set to collide.

PSG and Bayern are no strangers, having met 15 times in the competition, including in each of the last nine seasons.

Bayern have dominated the fixture, winning the last five meetings -- the longest winning streak by any team against PSG in major European competition. They also won 2-1 in Paris in this season’s league phase, with Luis Díaz scoring twice before being sent off.

PSG’s nine defeats to Bayern are their most against any opponent in the competition.

Goals are almost guaranteed. PSG and Bayern are joint-top scorers this season with 38 goals each, while Bayern average 3.2 goals per game -- the highest followed by PSG’s 2.7.

Harry Kane leads Bayern’s charge, with 12 goals -- the most by an English player in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign. He has scored in each of his last four knockout matches.

For PSG, Vitinha could dictate play if fit. His 1,370 completed passes are the most in a single Champions League season since 2003-04, and he has registered 100+ passes in eight games, second only to Xavi’s nine for Barcelona in 2010-11.

With six goals and three assists, a goal or assist would make Diaz the third Bayern player to reach 10+ goal involvements this season, alongside Kane (13) and Michael Olise (10) -- a first for the club in a single campaign.

On the touchline, PSG boss Luis Enrique is one win away from becoming the fastest manager to 50 Champions League victories (currently 49 in 76 games), with Pep Guardiola holding the record (50 in 80).

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has won both of his meetings with Enrique’s PSG (1-0 in November 2024 and 2-1 in November 2025), and another victory would give him the most wins by any manager against the Spaniard in the competition (3).