Man City v PSG Lineups: Kvaratskhelia and Neves Benched

Luis Enrique has made the boldest selection call of the Champions League season so far, benching Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Joao Neves for Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Manchester City — and Enzo Maresca has answered in kind, leaving Phil Foden on the bench as Antoine Semenyo starts at the Etihad.

The confirmed teams landed an hour before the 3pm ET kick-off and tore up almost every predicted lineup. The official PSG team sheet has Matvey Safonov in goal behind Achraf Hakimi, captain Marquinhos, Willian Pacho and Nuno Mendes, with Warren Zaire-Emery joining Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha in midfield and Maghnes Akliouche and Desire Doue flanking Ousmane Dembele. Kvaratskhelia, Neves and Ferran Torres are all among the substitutes.

City, as listed by 101GreatGoals, go with Gianluigi Donnarumma against his former club; Abdukodir Khusanov, captain Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol at the back; Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez in midfield; and Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Semenyo behind Erling Haaland. Foden, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic wait on the bench.

Enrique gambles on rotation against the form team in Europe

Neither Kvaratskhelia nor Neves is injured — both are fit and on the bench — so this is a deliberate rotation call, reported as Enrique managing his squad through a heavy schedule, with a league game against Strasbourg and a Champions League meeting with Barcelona coming next for the holders. It is still a startling gamble. Neves has been a regular starter this season, and Kvaratskhelia was widely expected to return to the front three after being rested at the weekend.

Instead, Enrique is trusting Akliouche and Doue to carry the wide threat and asking Zaire-Emery to give his midfield legs against a City side that, as our Wednesday preview set out, has won every match it has played this season. Senny Mayulu, out with a thigh injury, is PSG's only absentee.

Semenyo and Hakimi carry the African duel

The African-stars subplot runs straight through both teams. Ghana's Semenyo keeps his place in Maresca's front line and will test Nuno Mendes down City's right, while Morocco's Hakimi — PSG's most relentless outlet — starts at right-back and will spend the night trading runs with Doku. Whichever full-back and winger pair wins its flank will tilt the match.

Foden's absence is the hosts' one surprise. Available again after missing the Liverpool game through suspension, he was expected to start, but Maresca has preferred Cherki's invention between the lines — a sign of how deep this City squad now runs, and of the confidence flowing through a side that beat Liverpool 3-0 on Sunday and has made the charges saga a backdrop rather than a distraction, as our Maresca piece explored.

So what — benches this strong change the last half-hour

This fixture flipped on substitutes the last time the clubs met, when PSG came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 in Paris in January 2025. Tonight both managers have stacked their benches deliberately: Enrique can introduce Kvaratskhelia and Neves against tired legs, and Maresca can turn to Foden if the game is level late. In the league-phase format, where a win tonight puts the victor in early control of a top-eight place, the final 30 minutes — not the first hour — may be where this is decided.

Beyond the Final Whistle: Enrique has either outsmarted everyone or handed City the initiative — benching two of his best players away to the form team in Europe is the kind of call that looks genius at full-time or reckless by half-time, with nothing in between. Our verdict: it is a mistake. You do not rotate away your control and your chaos factor on the same night, at the Etihad, against Haaland. Do you agree — is Enrique protecting his season, or has he given City a head start?