Match Preview: Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Atlanta to host repeat of 2020 UCL final
Match: Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Competition: 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Quarter Final
Date: Saturday, July 5th, 2025. 12:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA. Capacity: 71,000
How to watch: DAZN
Tickets: Ticketmaster
It’s a battle of two European heavyweights on Saturday, and one that FIFA will have dreamt of for their revamped Club World Cup. Atlanta welcomes quarter finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as both sides look to work their way to the Semi-Finals and a $21 million prize.
PSG, favored by many to win this tournament, have been Europe’s strongest side in 2025. By slaughtering Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final, they secured an historic treble, the first time a French club has done so. They’ve been strong in the tournament so far, with wins over Atlético Madrid (5-0) and the Seattle Sounders (2-0) in Group B. And while they did fall to a 1-0 defeat to Botafogo, they nonetheless topped their group before trouncing Inter Miami 4-0 here in Atlanta in the Round of 16.
German champions Bayern Munich came second in Group C behind Benfica who beat them 1-0 in Charlotte. They won both other group games against Auckland City (10-0) and Boca Juniors (2-1) before beating Flamengo 4-2 in Miami in the last round.
With about 140 major trophies won between them, this promises to be the most high-profile clash so far in the tournament. Whoever wins this game is going to come up against the winner of Real Madrid versus Borussia Dortmund.
The History
PSG: P:14 W:6 D:0 L:8 GF:15 GA:19
Bayern: P:14 W:8 D:0 L:6 GF:19 GA:15
Bayern enjoy a dominant record over the Parisians since their first meeting in 1994. They’ve triumphed in over half of their 14 meetings and enjoy a +4 goal difference. Interestingly, these sides are yet to draw a game against one another.
They contested the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final during the COVID-19 pandemic, the only final with zero fans in attendance. The Paris-born, former PSG winger Kingsley Coman scored the game’s only goal in Lisbon.
They most recently faced off during last season’s Champions League league phase. The game in November, played at Bayern’s Allianz Arena came before Luis Enrique’s side would really take off in 2025. Korean defender Kim Min-jae scored the game’s only goal, handing Bayern a 1-0 win. Ousmané Dembéle was sent off after receiving two yellow cards. The game was the only one in the Luis Enrique era that PSG have both lost and had less possession than their opponent (42.9%) in the same match.
Report cards and lineups
PSG
So far in this tournament, PSG boast the highest average possession (72%), have completed more passes (2,888) than any other team, and have conceded the fewest goals (one).
Ballon d'Or contender Ousmané Dembélé came into the tournament carrying a knock and was rested for the club’s entire group stage. He did, however, come off the bench in the round of 16 against Miami and could well be thrown in by Enrique to his starting XI, considering the caliber of opposition. Much of the team that takes the field will be familiar with Georgian international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and youngster Désiré Doué in attack. Midfield will almost certainly feature the axis of Spain’s Fabián Ruiz and the Portuguese duo of João Neves and Vitinha.
Neves, Ruiz, and captain Marquinhos are all on yellow cards.
The player to watch is Dembélé. The 28-year old has been resurgent since signing with PSG in 2023 for a fee of $55 million. Last season he contributed 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 appearances as PSG won their treble. He was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year and UEFA Champions League Player of the Season, and finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer.
Bayern
Bayern’s pressing game has been very impressive this summer. They are the tournament’s joint-highest scorers (16 goals - 10 of which were netted against Auckland City), boast the most high turnovers (56) and pressed sequences (68) of any team, as well as the second-most final-third passes (955).
Bayern entered the tournament with several injury concerns. Canada’s Alphonso Davies and Japan’s Hiroki Ito didn’t make the trip to the United States, while center back Kim Min-Jae hasn’t played a part thus far. The South Korean international is believed to be closing in on his return from injury, but Saturday’s game will arrive too soon.
Leroy Sané, who played for Bayern in the Group Stage, recently departed to join Galatasaray, but Head Coach Vincent Kompany has Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise and Serge Gnabry available. All three are expected to be fit. Olise is a contender for best player of Club World Cup. The 23-year-old French international has the most goal contributions (5: 3 goals, 2 assists) of any player in the tournament.
Two other players with three goals are Jamal Musiala and England striker Harry Kane. German international Musiala, who has just taken Sané’s number 10 shirt. Still only 22, he already has 45 goals in 138 senior appearances for Bayern and has won five Bundesliga titles, three German Super Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA World Club Cup. He’s my player to watch for Bayern.
Musiala, Jonathan Tah, Konrad Laimer, Joshua Kimmich, and Leon Goretzka are all on yellow cards. Its also worth keeping in mind that this game, like every game, could be the last ever one in Thomas Müller's glorious Bayern Munich career.
Analysis and Predictions
This is a blockbuster clash between the Club World Cup’s most proficient pressing sides. I’m going for a PSG win. They’ve been the strongest side in Europe for the past half-a-year now and their ability to rotate and decimate static defenses makes them irresistible. Bayern will need to be incredibly disciplined off the ball to withstand PSG’s offense.
While Bayern did beat PSG the last time they met, and have a superior record over them, I think PSG right now will be too strong for them. They have gone eight straight games across all competitions in which they have limited their opponents to under one expected goal and fewer than 10 attempts. The Opta supercomputer is backing PSG to win this one, giving them a 57.7% chance of progressing to the semi-finals. I’m going for a 2-0 win.