Far from the unbreathable final sprint of last season, Paris Saint-Germain already has the opportunity to secure its European future during its trip to Bilbao this Wednesday evening. A victory against Athletic and the Parisians would thus be assured of completing the first round of the Champions League among the first 24 in the league phase. Three additional points and the capital club would be out of reach of the twelve clubs currently bringing up the rear.
Luis Enrique’s band has 12 units before challenging the Basques at San Mames. A draw would leave it within reach of the teams with 7 points at the end of this 6th day and the reigning European champions would then not be statistically qualified for the play-offs.
For Opta, Paris is going straight there
However, according to Opta’s forecasts, Parisians have nothing to worry about. The statistician’s simulator currently predicts that Pafos would be the last club qualified for the playoffs and that it could be satisfied with 8.39 points. Opta’s supercomputer also projects Naples in 17th place with only 11.64 points: Paris would thus be ahead of the Neapolitans by maintaining their current total.
Parisians tend to look towards the top of the rankings. Fourth in the league phase while half of the teams have already played their sixth match, PSG can claim the Top 8, which would propel them directly into the round of 16, without going through the playoffs box. The first eight places would be attainable above 15.84 points, indicates Opta. A victory against Athletic would bring the French champion closer to this total.
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