Bayer Leverkusen will continue their search for a first UEFA Champions League victory of the season when they host holders Paris Saint-Germain at the BayArena on Tuesday night (kick-off: 9pm CEST).
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Despite what seemed a difficult start to the season, Leverkusen have still lost just one game in all competitions, during Erik Ten Hag's short reign. They now look to take their solid domestic form to the European stage, as they are without a win in their opening two Champions League matches, having drawn with Copenhagen and PSV.
They prepared for this encounter with a 4-3 win at Mainz, with Alejandro Grimaldo the star of the show as he netted a brace. They did that without several important players, too, with the likes of Patrik Schick, Nathan Tella and Jarrell Quansah all missing.
Watch: Grimaldo nets brace as Leverkusen win thriller in Mainz
Tella should be available for this one, but Schick and Quansah face a race against time to prove their fitness. The attacking absentees should lead to a key role for Christian Kofane, who has four goals to his name in all competitions and netted against PSV.
Elsewhere, Malik Tillman missed the Mainz clash with thigh cramp and was confirmed on Sunday to be ruled out for around two weeks. Axel Tape and Lucas Vázquez are also set to miss out.
Meanwhile, reigning holders PSG have enjoyed a good start to their season, although it has not been flawless. They were held to a 3-3 draw by Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Friday, and are in second place behind Marseille having won five of their eight fixtures.
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Their best performances this term have arguably been in Europe, with a 4-0 hammering of Atalanta followed up by a 2-1 win at Barcelona. Gonçalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola are the side's top scorers with four goals apiece.
Former Borussia Dortmund winger and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé has been missing since early September but could return in some form here. Other familiar names to Bundesliga fans include fellow Dortmund alumni Achraf Hakimi, ex-Eintracht Frankfurt defender Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández, formerly of Bayern Munich.
Match stats
Leverkusen have lost only one of their last 17 European group/league phase matches on home soil (W14 D2). They are unbeaten in their last nine (W7 D2).
The Werkself have lost only one of their last seven European games against French teams (W4 D2).
Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba has made the joint most line-breaking passes by a defender in the Champions League this season (34, level with Josko Gvardiol).
Only Rodri and Joey Veerman (34 each) have made more such passes than Aleix García (30) among all midfielders in the competition.
Reigning European champions PSG have played 102 successive UEFA competition matches since they were involved in a goalless draw (against Real Madrid in 2015).
Hakimi has registered more assists from open play than any other player in the Champions League since the start of last season (seven).
Probable teams
Leverkusen: Flekken - Badé, Andrich (c), Tapsoba - Arthur, Fernández, García, Grimaldo – Poku, Ben Seghir – Kofane
Out: Palacios (groin), Tape (thigh), Tella (knee), Tillman (thigh)
Doubtful: Quansah (knee), Schick (hamstring), Vázquez (muscular)
Coach: Kasper Hjulmand
Paris Saint-Germain: Chevalier – Hakimi, Pacho, Zabarnyi, Mendes – Mayulu, Vitinha, Zaïre-Emery – Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé (c), Doué
Out: Marquinhos (thigh)
Doubtful: Ruiz (muscular)
Coach: Luis Enrique
LIVE blog!
10:07
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#### Watch: All of Grimaldo's Bundesliga goals and assists - EVER!Check out all of the Spaniard's goal contributions in Germany's top flight to date.#### Something of a rarity
PSG come into this one off the back of some uncharacteristically mixed form, with two consecutive draws. In fact, the French side currently sit in second place in Ligue 1, one point behind league leaders Marseille, who beat the Parisian outfit back in September.
1:08
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#### Watch: Highlights from Leverkusen's last match#### Still unbeaten
Since Kasper Hjulmand took over the reins at Leverkusen, Die Werkself have remained unbeaten. They welcome PSG to the BayArena off the back of a 4-3 away win at Mainz on Matchday 7 of their Bundesliga campaign.
0:59
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#### Can Grimaldo do it again?A special European night sometimes calls for a special moment. Leverkusen's free-kick master Alejandro Grimaldo has already taken his superb Bundesliga set-piece taking ability into the Champions League, netting an equaliser in Leverkusen's opening league stage match of the season in Copenhagen.
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#### Mixed memoriesParis Saint-Germain lost 1-0 at Bayern Munich in last season's league phase, before returning to Munich to demolish Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.
© IMAGO/Davide Elias
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#### No Tape reunionLeverkusen's 18-year-old central defender Axel Tape joined the club in the summer from PSG, but a thigh injury means he will sit out the encounter. Former Frankfurt defender Willian Pacho and ex-Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembélé could feature for the visitors.
© IMAGO/Laci Perenyi
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#### How things standTwo draws so far (against Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven) leave Leverkusen just outside the play-off places in 25th in the league stage table. There is a long way to go until the end of January, but a result against a PSG side that have won both their opening encounters (most recently winning 2-1 in Barcelona) would boost the Bundesliga side's campaign.
© IMAGO/Anke Waelischmiller/Sven Simon#### Welcome along!
Hello, and thank you for joining us for live build-up and coverage of Bayer Leverkusen's UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 encounter at home to Paris Saint-Germain this Tuesday.