Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain and SL Benfica meet again on Tuesday with top spot in Group H up for grabs after last week's 1-1 draw in Lisbon. The French champions will be without star man Lionel Messi once more due to the calf issue which the legendary Argentine picked up at Estadio da Luz last week. Juventus could turn up the heat on both sides with the Italian giants' clash with Maccabi Haifa coming before kick-off at Parc des Princes.

"Leo felt a problem in his calf during the first game with Benfica," said Galtier of Messi. "We all thought he was going to be able to play in the second game, but it's not quite there. There's only six days between the two...He's a lot better, but he still has that feeling that could be problematic in a game of this importance, and he preferred to sit it out. We're going to see how it progresses during the week, and it's very probable that he's available for Marseille. You all know how important Leo is in our play, but the most important thing is his physical shape and his connection with Neymar and Kylian and the wing-backs. We'll have to find other solutions, other situations, other connections to create danger for the Portuguese defence."

Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:

How to watch and odds

  • Date: Tuesday, Oct. 11 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • Location: Parc des Princes -- Paris
  • TV and live stream: Paramount+
  • Odds: PSG -250; Draw +400; Benfica +600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Storylines

PSG: Christophe Galtier's men were held to a goalless draw over the weekend by Stade de Reims after Sergio Ramos' red card meant that they played over half of the game with 10 men. With no Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will be expected to step up with the French superstar the subject of further controversy due to his perceived unhappiness at playing a different role with PSG to the one he occupies with France. Despite that, the Reims draw opened a three-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit ahead of this weekend's Classique against bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille.

"The technical relationship between Ney and Mbappe exists," added Galtier. "It works well and the stats show that. But we have to have other variations in our play, otherwise it's too easy for our opponents to close us down. We have to find solutions out wide. Messi can take our attack to the left, we have also worked on positioning to have more variety in our play.

"Every week is important at Paris Saint-Germain. There's this double-header with Benfica, there was the match with Nice before the international break, and the highly anticipated meeting with Marseille on Sunday. It's an important week in terms of the stakes and the games, but the week after will be very important and the week after that too. We take into account each player's shape, knowing that certain players will rejoin the squad soon."

Craving even more coverage of the world's game? Listen below and follow ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.

Benfica: Roger Schmidt's side got back to winning ways with a 4-2 thumping of Rio Ave to keep a three-point advantage at the top of the Primeira Liga. However, last week was the ideal opportunity to seize control of their UCL group so they must now do it the hard way. Both sides are unbeaten this season and one of those records could fall on Tuesday.

"First, you have to analyse the first game, and see how Benfica caused us problems," said Galtier of the Portuguese giants. "You have to ask yourself if everything was done right tactically. If we decide to go for another system, we have to be able to create new connections, we can get the players playing higher up the pitch, there's a whole analysis to do regarding the options. I speak a lot to my senior players, with my staff, to see how we can change in terms of the players who are missing."

Prediction

Pick: PSG 2-1 Benfica. This one is likely to be tight again and should feature both sides scoring, but the hosts will probably shade it by virtue of home advantage. This would be a sizable hiccup if Les Parisiens were to not take all three points with Group H approaching an important juncture which could dictate whether Juve still have a shot at emerging from the group. Messi's absence is a blow but Galtier has a handful of issues to contend with as the defense remains leaky.