🔊 Who will claim the UEFA Super Cup? On August 13, the champions of the Champions League and Europa League—PSG and Tottenham—will clash for the trophy. The match is set to take place at the "Friuli" Stadium in Udine, Italy. Bookmakers have PSG as the heavy favorites, yet they lost their last final against another team from the British Isles. In our analysis, we'll explore Tottenham's chances of pulling off an upset and break down the key aspects of this upcoming showdown.

Interesting Facts

• PSG competed for the UEFA Super Cup in 1996. Back then, the trophy was contested over two legs, and the Parisians were overwhelmed by Juventus (1-6; 1-3). Unlike their opponents, Tottenham will be making their debut in a UEFA Super Cup battle.
• In 3 of the last 6 UEFA Super Cup matches, the winner has been decided by a penalty shootout. In all these encounters since 2019, the Champions League victor has emerged triumphant.

Head-to-Head

📊 The upcoming match will be the first official encounter between PSG and Tottenham.

Paris Saint-Germain Team Overview

🔵 Luis Enrique's squad delivered a historic season, bringing the club's owners and fans a long-awaited Champions League triumph. However, they fell just short of making it a benchmark season. In the Club World Cup final a month ago, the Parisians, who had breezed through the tournament, were thrashed by Chelsea (0-3). It seemed as if the "Red and Blues" took to the field with a slight underestimation, which cost them dearly as they conceded three goals by the end of the first half.

🔴 It's worth noting that since then, Paris have not played a single match. The players have been recovering from an intense season, so their current form is a big question mark. Interestingly, the French champions have not been very active in the transfer market either. Their only signing is Lucas Chevalier, last season's top goalkeeper in Ligue 1. It seems Gianluigi Donnarumma is no longer in their plans.

Tottenham Hotspur Team Overview

⚪️ Securing their first trophy in 17 years with a victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final wasn't enough for Ange Postecoglou to keep his job as Tottenham's head coach. The team finished just above the relegation zone in the Premier League, a complete failure that led to the Australian's dismissal. He was replaced by Thomas Frank, who had a long and fairly successful stint with Brentford.

🔵 Under the Dane, the Spurs started well, going on a five-match unbeaten run, including clashes with Arsenal (1-0) and Newcastle (1-1). However, their encounter with Bayern Munich ended in a crushing defeat (0-4). Bayern racked up 3.6 expected goals, while the London side managed only 0.35. Fittingly, it was Harry Kane who scored the winning goal against them.

Latest news

Paris Saint-Germain

🎙 "The goal for the upcoming season is to improve. From a football perspective, I believe we'll make strides both in attack and defense. We still have time to pinpoint what we need to focus on. As for titles, we want to be ready to compete for each one. Of course, we all believe that we can win every possible trophy and replicate our success from this year. If we do, we'll make history. And we'll do it with a bang. This motivates us even more," said Luis Enrique ahead of the UEFA Super Cup match.

📝 Journalist Horacio Accomando reports that Gianluigi Donnarumma has caught the interest of Manchester City. It's likely that PSG will part ways with the Italian. Another transfer update involves the move of Ilya Zabarnyi, which is reportedly all but confirmed. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Ukrainian defender has already completed his medical examination.

❌ Joao Neves will miss the Super Cup match as he serves a suspension for his red card in the Club World Cup final. Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has been left out of the squad, will also not take the field.

Tottenham Hotspur

🎙 Thomas Frank after the disappointing outing against Bayern: “In my opinion, Bayern are one of the contenders for the Champions League title. They showed a high level of play, while we did not, but we'll definitely learn from this. It seems we lacked the energy we need to find — no team can play without that energy. We have six days ahead, our first normal week in the last two weeks, so if we do everything right — just relax, travel less, recharge the players, and have three or four good training sessions — we will be ready for the match against PSG.”

📝 Tottenham are active in the transfer market this summer, pulling off several big deals. The most disheartening for fans is the departure of long-time leader and captain Son to MLS. The latest addition is João Palhinha, who has joined on loan from Bayern.

❌ Yet, the saddest news for Tottenham this offseason is James Maddison's injury — the midfielder tore his ACL in the game against Newcastle. Besides him, Radhu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski will miss the upcoming match due to knee issues. Also out due to injury is new signing Kota Takai, although he was unlikely to contend for a starting spot.

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

🟨 Referee and Yellow Cards

The match will be officiated by João Pedro Pinheiro. Looking at the stats from his last 10 matches, the Portuguese referee isn't known for being particularly strict, averaging just 2.6 yellow cards per game.

Considering that Super Cup matches rarely turn into rough affairs (only 1 out of the last 6 saw more than 4 cautions), there's a well-founded bet here – under 4.5 yellow cards.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

The Spurs have struggled to find the net, scoring no more than one goal in each of their last four games – a trend worth noting. Even in friendlies, Thomas Frank's side has been far from prolific. Yes, they've faced tough opponents, but in the Super Cup, they'll be up against Europe's top team. It's worth noting that before their World Club Cup final setback, Luis Enrique's squad had kept four consecutive clean sheets. With this in mind, we suggest betting on Tottenham's individual total under 1.5 goals.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Given the lineup for this match, it's hard to imagine it being dull. We anticipate plenty of action for both goalkeepers, leading to a high number of corners. Over their last 10 official matches, PSG have averaged 5.5 corners per game, while Tottenham have averaged 5.1. This makes a bet on over 8.5 corners quite logical. Moreover, this wager has come through in Tottenham's last 5 official matches.

It's hard to pinpoint any factors that would make Tottenham the favorites in the upcoming match. Even with a month-long break from competitive play, the Parisians appear more formidable. They boast superior individual talent and better team chemistry compared to Spurs, who have recently changed their manager and revamped their squad significantly. Therefore, we anticipate a victory for the nominal home side with a scoreline of 3-1.

That said, it's worth remembering that favorites in the Super Cup often fail to live up to expectations, leading to penalty shootouts. The players' less-than-optimal physical condition increases the chances of an upset. With this in mind, our editorial team advises against betting on the outcome and suggests a neutral option – total over 3 goals.