Big Midweek: PSG v Man City, Postecoglou on sack watch, Liverpool saviour Darwin, Man Utd…

The Champions League is back and Manchester City and Darwin Nunez need to continue where they left off at the weekend, while Arsenal need to get it together. Strap in for a Big Midweek.
Game to watch: Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City
The best thing about the switch from groups to a mammoth league table in the Champions League is seeing European juggernauts face off every week before the knockout stage. Nobody expected there to be much jeopardy involved but here we are, two matches from the end of the league phase, with French champions PSG and English champions Man City knowing defeat could see them miss out on a play-off spot.
During City’s horrendous run in November and December, they played three Champions League matches, losing 4-1 at Sporting, throwing away a three-goal lead to draw at home to Feyenoord and losing 2-0 at draw experts Juventus. They are in a very precarious position and a trip to PSG is a daunting task, but thankfully Pep Guardiola’s side have picked things up in recent weeks and are going to Paris off the back of a 6-0 win at Ipswich Town.
Still, defeat for City could be catastrophic. It would take PSG above them, and at least a point for PSV Eindhoven at Crvena Zvezda and win for Stuttgart at Slovan Bratislava would do the same for both, leaving City outside the play-off spots going into the final matchday, which should theoretically be light work at home to Club Brugge; we say that as if the Belgians aren’t above them in the table. A point for Dinamo Zagreb at Arsenal would also be enough for them to leapfrog City should they lose at the Parc des Princes.
Defeat is far from a foregone conclusion; in fact, the Cityzens are the favourites. Luis Enrique’s side are somehow doing even worse in Europe and sit 25th out of 36 teams with two wins from six matches. They have been brushed aside by Arsenal and failed to beat PSV and Atletico Madrid at home, while losing 1-0 at Bayern Munich. Their schedule has been tougher than City’s but a team of PSG’s stature should be doing a lot better, especially in their home games.
There is a lot on the line here and it should be a fantastic game, if both managers don’t approach it cautiously, which wouldn’t surprise us. PSG came from behind to win 2-1 at RC Lens on Saturday and have not lost since their trip to Munich on November 26, though their performances have left a lot to be desired.
PSG face City at a bad time but the ability throughout Enrique’s squad is clear – Achraf Hakimi, Bradley Barcola, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Joao Neves are all fantastic players. However, City have better players and we fancy them to do the business here.
Team to watch: Arsenal
Arsenal have to win a match comfortably to help pick up some momentum and get confidence throughout the squad again and Dinamo Zagreb at home is a prime opportunity.
Too many players are underperforming and Bukayo Saka’s influence is more notable than ever with him out injured. Mikel Arteta’s attack looks toothless and bereft of ideas, with even Martin Odegaard out of sorts without his partner on the right flank. Benjamin White has also been sorely missed on that side.
Kai Havertz is under more scrutiny than ever and Gabriel Martinelli has not stepped up in Saka’s absence. A big performance and convincing win against Zagreb is necessary and could be the shot in the arm Arsenal’s title challenge so desperately needs.
Dinamo have only been playing friendlies this year due to a winter break in Croatia and Wednesday’s clash at the Emirates is their first competitive encounter since beating Varazdin 3-2 at home on December 22. They are only third in the Croatian top flight, behind Gennaro Gattuso’s Hadjuk Split and Rijeka. Oh, and they are managed by Italian legend and the last defender to win the Ballon d’Or, Fabio Cannavaro.
There will be an element of rustiness but even if Dinamo had beaten Rijeka 5-0 at the weekend in a cup final, there would be no excuse for Arsenal not winning this game.
Player to watch: Darwin Nunez
Liverpool have a perfect record in the Champions League this season and Arne Slot should rotate against Lille as a result. Surely Darwin Nunez will start after his match-winning brace at Brentford on Saturday. If he doesn’t, then the player to watch is still him when he comes on and plays like a bull in a china shop.
Captain Chaos saved Liverpool’s bacon at Brentford, scoring a 91st-minute winner before adding an unexpected second to calm any Scouse nerves. Darwin is a player some Reds fans have lost patience with but he remains adored by a huge chunk of a very loyal fanbase. Say what you want about Liverpool fans but they know how to stick by a player, especially a striker, struggling and getting slagged off by rival fans. They stood by Peter Crouch and they are doing the same with Darwin.
It is all about backing up a super sub appearance with a solid showing and another goal or two from the start. You never know what you are going to get with Darwin and that is the beauty of it; he could get sent off, score a hat-trick, miss seven open goals or all of the above. The Uruguayan could and probably should be our player to watch every weekend/midweek Liverpool are playing but there is more substance this time around given his rescue job on Saturday.
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Manager to watch: Ange Postecoglou
By the time Hoffenheim v Tottenham rolls around on Thursday, Ryan Mason could be in caretaker charge of Spurs following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou, making this nothing but a waste of time. But we can’t live in fear of the traffic gold mine that is ‘Postecoglou sack’ being manifested.
Losing 3-2 at Everton probably should have been the last straw after needing extra time to beat non-league Tamworth and losing the north London derby at Arsenal, but it looks like Daniel Levy will not pull the trigger… yet. Spurs are ahead in their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, which is probably the reason why the Australian has not been sacked, which is kind of fair given the importance of ending the trophy drought and Postecoglou’s brazen “I always win in in my second season” claim, but the way this team is playing and approaches matches under their head coach, they will get bloody crucified at Anfield.
Then there is the FA Cup, which brings a tricky fourth-round tie at Aston Villa, and the Europa League, with Ange’s men currently ninth, which is a play-off spot. That is where Postecoglou’s immediate focus lies, with a tricky trip to Hoffenheim their next adventure. Spurs’ form away from home has been abysmal. Amusingly, their only away wins in the 2024/25 Premier League have come against Southampton (0-5), Manchester United (0-3) and Manchester City (0-4).
Hoffenheim are a standard Europa League/Conference League team with a couple of dangerous players like Andrej Kramaric and Anton Stach. They are 26th out of 36 teams and Spurs should prevail, but lads, it’s Tottenham.
They could really do with winning this with the two teams directly above them, Manchester United and Rangers, playing each other and anything less can be regarded as another poor result under Postecoglou, who needs to get his side back on form before it’s too late.
Europa League game to watch: Manchester United v Rangers
“Get ready, everybody. He’s about to do something stupid,” will be the quote of the night when Man United host Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday. Gosh, it is going to be a horrendously fascinating watch.
Rangers have been a shambles domestically this season, particularly away from home, but have found some respite in Europe, which has been a familiar story of late. They should have beaten Tottenham at home and their only Europa League loss was a humbling one v Lyon. They made amends with a 4-0 home win over Romanian side FCSB (the fake Steaua Bucharest) and an even more impressive 4-1 win away to Nice.
The Red Devils have done just fine in Europe. They are unbeaten in six games, drawing their first three and looking largely underwhelming in their three victories, which is how they tend to win games these days. Ruben Amorim will be after a reaction to Sunday’s miserable home defeat to Brighton and Rangers in Europe are not the team you want to face when you are feeling vulnerable, even if they are as wildly unpredictable and flimsy as United.
That sheer unpredictability is what we live for and Thursday’s clash between two very funny football teams guarantees entertainment.
Football League game to watch: Wrexham v Birmingham City
Oof, now we’re talking. Screw United v Rangers, this is the true Battle of Britain.
There is proper needle between these two teams. Americans love drama and there should be plenty of that at the Racecourse Ground on Thursday evening with the clubs’ US superstar owners in attendance.
Birmingham have only lost two of their 24 League One matches this season and are five points above third-placed Wrexham with two games in hand. Promotion is inevitable as the Welsh side chase second place right behind them, with Wycombe Wanderers currently occupying that spot.
The atmosphere is sure to be electric, which it might not have been for a less significant fixture considering Phil Parkinson’s side lost at Shrewsbury Town at the weekend. Birmingham have won their last four League One matches in a row and victory on Thursday would be perfect going into the home stretch.
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