Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP)

The star striker of Paris SG Kylian Mbappé, affected in the right calf, will start on the bench the semi-final return of the Champions League on the ground of Manchester City, Tuesday (9 p.m.), according to the compositions announced by UEFA.

The absence of the kickoff of the French center forward is a blow for PSG, who must score at least twice to erase the defeat of the first leg (2-1).

"Kyky" has scored eight goals in the last six C1 games he has played.

With 37 achievements in all competitions, he is the club's top scorer this season.

He suffers from a contracture in the right calf, which deprived him of the match against Lens (2-1) in the Championship last Saturday.

This is not the first time that coach Mauricio Pochettino deplores the absence of a framework for a European shock, Neymar having missed the round of 16 against FC Barcelona (4-1, 1-1) for injury.

For the quarterback against Bayern, lost 1-0 (first leg: 2-3), it was Marquinhos and Marco Verratti who missed the call.

In Manchester, Pochettino replaced Mbappé with Mauro Icardi, the "Goleador" who has only played two C1 matches this season.

But the Argentine comes out of a full April, with five goals in three matches.

For the rest, "Poche" aligns a composition close to its typical team, in 4-2-3-1, Neymar starting in attack, just like Angel Di Maria.

A question remained in the midfield due to the suspension of Idrissa Gueye, excluded in the first leg.

It is ultimately Ander Herrera who is established alongside Leandro Paredes.

Manchester City side, coach Pep Guardiola made two changes from the eleven lined up in the first leg, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fernandinho taking the place of Joao Cancelo and Rodri.

The "Sky Blues" are aiming for the first Champions League final in their history.

For Paris, in case of qualification, it would be the second, after that lost last August against Bayern (1-0).

Compositions:

Manchester City: Ederson - Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko - Silva, Fernandinho (cap), Gündogan - Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden

Paris SG: Navas - Florenzi, Marquinhos (cap), Kimpembe, Diallo - Paredes, Herrera - Neymar, Verratti, Di Maria - Icardi

© 2021 AFP