Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2025 FIFA Club World Cup | Semi-Final

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Paris Saint-Germain are looking to finish off a season that may never be topped as they prepare to take on Real Madrid in the second semi-final at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV & online: UK – DAZN & Channel 5 / US – DAZN

Paris Saint-Germain team news: Defensive suspensions

Ahead of their clash with Los Blancos this week, PSG are dealing with a couple of suspensions in defence. Centre-back Willian Pacho and full-back Lucas Hernandez were both sent off late on their quarter-final win against Bayern Munich.

Predicted XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Mendes; Vitinha, Neves, Fabian Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Unavailable: Willian Pacho (Suspended), Hernandez (Suspended)

Questionable: 

Real Madrid team news: Defensive suspension

Much like the Parisiens, Madrid are also dealing with an absentee in defence as Dean Huijsen was sent off in their quarter-final win against Borussia Dortmund. Kylian Mbappe has returned but may remain on the bench due to the form of Gonzalo Garcia.

Predicted XI (4-1-2-1-2): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia; Tchouameni; Fede Valverde, Bellingham; Guler; Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo Garcia

Unavailable: Dean Huijsen (Suspended)

Questionable: 

Key stats

• This is a semi-final between the last two winners of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid became champions of Europe for a record 15th time in 2023/24, whereas Paris Saint-Germain did so for the first time in 2024/25.
• The clubs last met in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League round of 16, Kylian Mbappé scoring for Paris in both legs but Madrid winning 3-2 on aggregate (0-1 away, 3-1 home) thanks to a hat-trick in the Bernabéu from another Frenchman, Karim Benzema. Several players from both clubs remain from that tie, including goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma and Thibaut Courtois.
• Real Madrid have the edge in all-time meetings between the clubs, with five wins in 12 games to PSG’s four. Madrid have prevailed in both UEFA Champions League knockout ties, also winning a round of 16 contest in 2017/18 (3-1 home, 2-1 away), but the French club came out on top in the clubs’ first two European engagements, dramatically knocking Madrid out of the 1992/93 UEFA Cup quarter-finals (1-3 away, 4-1 home) before repeating the trick at the same stage of the following season’s UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1-0 away, 1-1 home).
• PSG defeated Real’s city neighbours Atlético de Madrid 4-0 in their opening fixture of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with goals from Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In (pen).
• Real Madrid’s most recent encounter with French opposition was a 3-0 win away to Brest in their final league phase fixture of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, Rodrygo scoring twice and Jude Bellingham once.
• Paris Saint-Germain have won nine of their last ten fixtures across all competitions (W9 D0 L1).
• PSG have kept six clean sheets in their last seven competitive games.
• PSG have conceded just once in their five outings at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
• Ousmane Dembélé has netted in 23 matches for PSG since the start of the 2024-25 campaign, and they have not lost any of those games (W21 D2 L0).
• PSG have won the last 14 competitive matches when Désiré Doué has scored.
• Real Madrid have reached the semi-finals without losing (W4 D1 L0).
• Real Madrid have won ten of their last 13 games in all competitions (W10 D1 L2). They are unbeaten in the eight most recent, with seven wins and one draw (W7 D1 L0).
• Real Madrid opened the scoring in all five of their contests at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
• Real Madrid have scored in each of their last 15 games in all competitions.
• Real Madrid have won 15 of their last 16 FIFA club competition fixtures (W15 D1 L0).
• Real Madrid have netted three or more goals in eight of their last ten FIFA club competition matches.
• Real Madrid’s Gonzalo García has contributed four goals and one assist in five appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup™. He has registered a goal contribution in all five games.
• 19 players have made an appearance for PSG in their run to the semi-finals; 20 players have featured for Real Madrid.
• Kylian Mbappé joined Madrid from PSG last year as the French club’s all-time record scorer with 256 goals in 308 appearances. He is also the club’s top marksman in Ligue 1 (175 goals), the Coupe de France (35) and European competition (42, all in the UEFA Champions League). He claimed 15 trophies with the club, including six Ligue 1 titles to add to the one he won with first club Monaco in 2016/17.
• Kylian Mbappé has scored 50 goals in 90 senior appearances for France and is a national team-mate of current PSG players Ousmane Dembélé, Lucas Hernández, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Presnel Kimpembe and Warren Zaïre-Emery. He also played in Paris with all those players except Doué.
• Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid team-mates Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy also play international football for France.
• Tchouaméni (Bordeaux 2018-20, Monaco 2020-22), Camavinga (Rennes 2019-21) and Mendy (Le Havre 2015-17, Lyon 2017-19) all played in their homeland before joining Madrid.
• Paris head coach Luis Enrique is Spanish and played for Real Madrid from 1991-96, winning the Copa del Rey in 1992/93 and La Liga in 1994/95.
• Luis Enrique and his Real Madrid counterpart Xabi Alonso both played for Spain although never together, the former from 1991-2002, the latter from 2003-14. 
• Enrique was a regular Real Madrid adversary as the head coach of Barcelona from 2014-17, winning La Liga twice and the Copa del Rey three times as well as the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League. His record against Madrid as Barcelona head coach was W3 D1 L2. He also led Celta Vigo to a defeat and a win against Real Madrid in 2013/14.
• A Barcelona side coached by Enrique beat a Bayern München side in which Alonso featured as a player 5-3 on aggregate in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League semi-final (3-0 home, 2-3 away).
• Enrique was also the head coach of Spain from 2018-22, when Madrid’s Dani Carvajal and Dani Ceballos were under his charge.
• Paris midfielder Fabián Ruiz, who played in Spain for Real Betis (2014-18) and Elche (2017 loan), won UEFA EURO 2024 with Spain alongside Carvajal. New Madrid recruit Dean Huijsen (suspended for this game) is also a current fellow national team-mate.
• PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi is a product of the Real Madrid academy. Born and bred in the Spanish capital, the Morocco international spent just one season in the club’s first team, 2017/18.
• Ousmane Dembélé spent six years in Spain as a Barcelona player (2017-23), winning three league titles and two domestic cups with the Catalan club.
• PSG’s Korea Republic international Lee Kang-In came through Valencia’s academy before playing senior football for the club (2018-21) as well as Mallorca (2021-23) in La Liga.
• New Madrid recruit Trent Alexander-Arnold was in the Liverpool side eliminated on penalties from the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League by PSG in the round of 16 (1-0 away, 0-1 home).
• Real Madrid’s Éder Militão, Vinícius Júnior, Brazil and Endrick all play for Brazil’s national team along with PSG’s Lucas Beraldo and Marquinhos.
• PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz both represent Morocco at senior international level.

Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid prediction

Paris Saint-Germain won their first ever treble and won four trophies last season, winning their first ever UEFA Champions League at the end of May. Luis Enrique’s Parisiens have not been as consistently brilliant in the FIFA Club World Cup, and yet they have probably still been the best team in the tournament.

Real Madrid are adapting to the Xabi Alonso style of football and they have grown into the tournament as it has gone on. The 15-time European champions finished at the top of an intriguing group before knockout victories against Juventus and then Borussia Dortmund ahead of their semi-final clash with PSG.

PSG are a joy to watch on the pitch, and Madrid are beginning to become more progressive, so it is expected to be an entertaining watch for the neutral.

Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid tip: Both teams to score