Bruges (Belgium) (AFP)

Continue the no-fault in the Champions League to open more the way to the knockout stage: PSG goes Tuesday (21:00 / 19:00 GMT) in Bruges, his amazing runner-up in Group A, with the goal of winning a third win in a row, even without his superstar Neymar.

"For me to play outside in C1, this is the most difficult challenge in Europe," warned Paris coach Thomas Tuchel Monday at a press conference. If we do not show our best level, it's almost certain that we can not win. "

Yet from the burning banks of the Bosphorus to the famous canals of the Venice of the North, the tortuous road for qualifying the second round is happening, for now, like a long calm river.

With 6 points, the PSG is indeed leading the group, after his brilliant inaugural victory against Real Madrid (3-0), then the difficult success acquired in Istanbul on the hostile field of Galatasaray (1-0).

Without Neymar, absent around "four weeks" because of a muscular injury, the Parisian club has become accustomed to shine on the European scene, thanks in particular to a dazzling Angel Di Maria.

Without Idrissa Gueye, major craftsman of the excellent start in C1 but injured too, Thomas Tuchel will have to find other solutions to remain sovereign in the middle against Club Brugge.

- Mbapped holder? -

"We miss Idrissa, he's really an extraordinary player, anything is possible" to replace him, said the Paris coach.

The only good news for him, the returns in the group of Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani, who are slow to return to the eleven holder because of a long recovery.

Present at Nice Friday (4-1 win), Cavani remained on the bench unlike Mbappé, author of a remarkable entry late in the game with a goal to the key.

Four days later, can they be started from the outset in Belgium? "I think it's too early for Kylian to play 90 minutes, we need to find the solution to see if he starts or ends the game, and that's the same for + Edi + (Cavani)," Tuchel announced on Monday.

If the trend seems negative for Cavani, still a bit short, Mbappé seems to have regained all its feelings after persistent discomfort in the thigh. Suspense ...

In case the two members of the "MCN" start on the bench, Tuchel will be able to rely on his two Argentinians Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi, authors of three of the four Paris goals scored in C1.

- "Everything to win and nothing to lose" for Bruges -

Irresistible since the beginning of the season, Di Maria continues the doubles and the class actions as if he lived, at 31 years, the best form of his career in the absence of the Mbappé-Cavani-Neymar trio.

Brilliant against Madrid and Galatasaray, the Parisian angel has scored in Nice his 6th and 7th goals of the season, including a lob made in full breath-taking race! "He is a world-class player," said fellow teammate Leandro Paredes on Friday, "technically it's perfect."

In addition to Icardi's flair, Tuchel will be able to rely on Thomas Meunier, the former Brugge (2011-2016), for information on the opponent.

"At the level of the atmosphere, it's a pretty hot club, a public a little English," warned the Belgian international, Monday. I'm expecting a trap match, we will have to be careful and certainly not underestimate them. "And even if the last trip of the PSG in Belgium ended in a 4-0 against Anderlecht, in October 2017 ...

Because Bruges plays without complex. During the previous day, the teammates of the striker Emmanuel Dennis led 2-0 to Santiago Bernabeu before seeing Madrid snatch the draw late in the game!

"Like Real, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose, it's very simple," said Philippe Clément, the coach of Club Bruges.

"Real and PSG have more qualities than us, it's clear, but on a match we can do special things, we have already done," he added "Normally you're happy when you can do a miracle by season, but we always want more ".

© 2019 AFP