Dynamo Kiev vs PSG

November 20, 2012
By: John Hansen

Sitting five points behind their next opponents, Dynamo Kiev have no choice but to win this game if they want to remain in contention for a place in the next round. The Saints, on the other hand, need a victory in order to keep a realistic chance of finishing top of the group, so there is every chance we will see a very interesting match at Olympic Stadium in Kiev.

Must-win game for Dynamo

Dynamo Kiev have been regular in European competitions over the last few years, but the team were pretty disappointing in the last few Champions League campaigns. After being eliminated in qualifying stages by Ajax in 2010 and Rubin in 2011, the Ukrainians finally managed to reach the group stage this season, having eliminated Feyenoord and Borussia M’gladbach. However, Oleg Blokhin’s side have been far from impressive in their group games, beating only weak Dinamo Zagreb at home and holding Porto to a goalless draw in Kiev. On the other hand, they were comfortably beaten by PSG and Porto on the road, meaning their chances of reaching the next stage are very slim. The team are clearly going through a rough patch at the moment, having lost four of last eight games in all competitions, so they clearly face a difficult task against star-studded Paris Saint-Germain.

Top scorer Ideye Brown should return after he was rested at the weekend, but Niko Kranjcar, Taras Mykhalyk and Raffael are all out injured.

No Ibra, no party!

Paris Saint-Germain may have invested over €120 million into new players over the summer and reinforced the squad with some excellent players, such as Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva, Marco Verratti and Gregory van der Wiel, but the reality is the team still heavily rely on magnificent Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Saints have largely struggled every time when the Swede was missing through injury and suspension, as witnessed by weekend’s home defeat to Rennes. However, they are a completely different team when Ibrahimovic plays, not only because of his amazing qualities, but also because he makes his teammates better. This is why his return to the side will be a huge boost for the French giants in what is a very difficult moment for the club. PSG may only need one point to qualify, but with the team desperate to make amends for three setbacks on domestic stage, the odds are the visitors will give their best to win this game.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns from domestic suspension, but Mathieu Bodmer, Christophe Jallet, Jeremy Menez and Kevin Gameiro miss out.

Verdict

Dynamo are clearly going through a rough patch at the moment and I seriously doubt they can show a massive improvement in this match. With red-hot Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the side, PSG should look much better than they did at the weekend, and maybe they can even win in Kiev.

Top pick: PSG Draw no bet   1.80 (4/5) @ Bet365

Alternative pick 1: Ibrahimovic to score   2.15 (23/20) @ Sportingbet

Alternative pick 2: Away win   2.60 (8/5) @ BetVictor

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