Paris Saint-Germain have the opportunity to retain the Champions League trophy and win back-to-back titles.
Luis Enrique’s side became European champions for the first time last season and are threatening to do so again, with Arsenal the only obstacle standing between PSG and a second successive Champions League crown.
Arsenal will put up a fight. The newly-crowned Premier League champions have kept more clean sheets (nine) than any other team in this season’s Champions League and their defence is currently the best in Europe.
PSG’s Champions League Dominance
At 4/6, PSG are firm favourites to get their hands on the Champions League trophy again. The French giants will take some toppling and are 6/5 to win the game in 90 minutes.
By several metrics, PSG have the advantage over Arsenal heading into Saturday’s encounter in Budapest. Arsenal are ranked 11th in this season’s Champions League, while PSG are second, only marginally behind Bayern Munich, when looking at the average possession share between the two sides.
PSG are averaging 547.6 accurate passes per match in the Champions League compared to 389.4 per match for Arsenal. The reigning European champions will likely control the majority of possession on Saturday.
PSG are exceptional at translating their dominance of the ball into attacking opportunities, as illustrated by the fact only Bayern have registered more Champions League ‘Big Chances’ so far this season.
No team has registered more touches in the opposition box than PSG this season. If Arsenal can keep the defending champions out of their area, they will stand a chance.
Key Players for PSG
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has netted 10 goals in 15 Champions League appearances this season and produced arguably the two best performances of his career in the semi-final win over Bayern Munich.
While Ousmane Dembele will frequently drop deep to get on the ball and move close to Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha in the centre of the pitch, Kvaratskhelia likes to keep himself separated from the opposition defence.
This is designed to get the Georgian into one-on-one situations where his dribbling ability comes to the fore. Kvaratskhelia is averaging 2.6 successful dribbles per 90 minutes.
Kvaratskhelia is 9/4 to score at any point of Saturday’s final, which considering his run of five goals in seven games appears to be good value. His dribbling could be the thing that breaks open the Arsenal backline.
PSG’s Record Against English Teams
While PSG lost to Paris FC in their final Ligue 1 game of the season, they have won their last five knockout ties against English teams having already eliminated Chelsea and Liverpool in this season’s Champions League run.