PSG vs Arsenal Prediction, 2:00 a.m. May 8: Difficulties pile up

TPO - Football commentary PSG vs Arsenal, second leg of the 2025 European Cup semi-final at 2:00 a.m. on May 8. Update information on the two teams' squads and form before the match. Trailing and having to play away in the second leg, Arsenal faced numerous difficulties in their efforts to reach the final.

Arsenal find it difficult to reverse the situation at PSG

Pre-match comments PSG vs Arsenal

In the first leg, Arsenal were considered to be better than PSG thanks to the Emirates advantage. However, coach Mikel Arteta's team could not take advantage of the home field to defeat PSG in the same way they crushed Real Madrid before. After conceding an early goal, the Gunners were unable to find an equalizer and accepted a 0-1 defeat.

Failing to score against PSG at the Emirates is unacceptable for Arsenal. It is important to know that PSG is famous for its attacking style of play and has never been highly regarded for its defense. In the quarter-finals, they were punctured by another English team, Aston Villa, 4 times. A 1-goal gap is not a "disaster" for Arsenal. They still have at least 90 minutes at the Parc des Princes to turn the game around. However, with no striker and a declining attack, the Gunners will face countless difficulties in France.

PSG under Luis Enrique will not play defensively to preserve the score. With the mobility of Neves, Vitinha and the creativity of Dembele, they will look to control the midfield and exploit the speed on the wings. Arsenal need to take advantage of the stability of Rice and the pressing ability of Martinelli and Saka to put pressure on the PSG defense and thereby force the opponent into mistakes.

The Parc des Princes is not an impregnable sanctuary. PSG have lost two of their seven home games in the Champions League this season (W4 D1). They lost 1-2 to Atletico Madrid in the group stage and 0-1 to Liverpool in the first leg of the Round of 16. Arsenal could learn from these two teams how to beat PSG. However, the Gunners' problem is that they are behind and are under pressure to find an equalizer within 90 minutes.

Arsenal can play defensively on the counter-attack, but they will have to go on the attack if they do not find an early goal or concede first. Then the Gunners will have big problems with PSG's high-speed forward line.

Arsenal rely too much on Saka

Arsenal's problem is even more difficult when they use fatigue to counter PSG's ease. Last weekend, coach Mikel Arteta surprised everyone by fielding a strong squad to welcome Bournemouth in the Premier League, while PSG only used their youth team to play Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The reverse defeat to Bournemouth not only affected Arsenal's mentality, but also made many of their stars more tired.

History is not on Arsenal’s side either, as only two teams have ever reached the Champions League final after losing the first leg of a semi-final at home. Ajax overcame Panathinaikos in 1995/96, and Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham did the same against Ajax in 2018/19.

Arsenal have never progressed from a knockout stage after losing the first leg at home in a European competition. Meanwhile, PSG have only been eliminated once after winning the first leg of a two-legged tie, when they were eliminated by Manchester United in 2018/19.

Head-to-head history, form PSG vs Arsenal

Supercomputer predicts PSG vs Arsenal result

The Opta supercomputer backs a PSG win, with them winning in 90 minutes in 45.4% of 10,000 simulations of the match against Arsenal.

It is difficult to imagine Luis Enrique playing defensively to aim for a draw, although the odds of that outcome are 24.6%, second only to Arsenal's 30.0% chance of winning.

The first-leg win has made PSG favourites to win the trophy, with a 41.6% chance of winning the trophy. Arsenal's chances have dropped from 31.3% before kick-off last Tuesday to 11.2%.

Expected lineup PSG vs Arsenal

PSG : Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Arsenal : Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli

Score prediction: PSG 2-1 Arsenal

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Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-psg-vs-arsenal-2h00-ngay-85-kho-khan-chong-chat-post1740034.tpo