Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is ignoring Paris Saint-Germain's poor start in the Champions League and expects a fierce test when the Parisiens visit Bavaria on Tuesday.
Six-time European champions Bayern are a lowly 17th in the 36-team Champions League table, currently occupying a playoff spot with just six points from four games.
PSG, meanwhile, are in danger of missing out on qualification entirely, sitting 25th with four points after being dealt a difficult draw.
Ahead of this week's fifth round of matches, the Opta supercomputer gave Bayern a 75% chance of reaching the last 16, either via automatic qualification or the playoffs.
PSG, meanwhile, are assigned just a 45% chance of making the round of 16.
However, Kompany will not take anything for granted ahead of the visit of Luis Enrique's men, saying: "We are playing against one of the big clubs in Europe.
They have a lot of individual quality and a very good coach. Both teams will want to win. We are playing at home and this match is of utmost importance to us.
"It's a squad with incredible talent. The spaces between the lines are never big, the pressing is very aggressive and good.
"When they have the ball, they have a clear attacking approach. As a team, they are really very good."
While the German giants have lost two of their four Champions League matches this season, they are undefeated in the Bundesliga and have not conceded a goal in five consecutive league games, but Kompany is still striving for more.
"There are many teams in the competition that we haven't seen yet. We often talk about finishing in the top eight... our goal is to finish top one," the Belgian added.
Bayern are without 20-year-old defensive midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, who broke his collarbone in October.
"Aleks is not yet fully integrated into training. It is going well and quickly, but it will still take a little while," Kompany said.
One man who is raring to go is Harry Kane, who has scored 50 Bundesliga goals since joining from Tottenham in August last year, needing just 43 games to reach that mark – fewer than any player in the league's history.
"It has been a long time since I felt as good as I do now," the England captain said. "As an experienced player, you learn a lot about different phases in a game.
"Since I've been at Bayern, my numbers have gone up. I hope that this continues and that we can keep raising our standards.
"Without the players around me, all of the goals I score would not be possible. They create space.
"We have a lot of competition for different positions, a lot of quality and a high tempo. Sometimes I also drop deeper to give my team-mates more space. We get on very well."
Luis Enrique calls for PSG to show resolve in Bayern clash
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has urged his side to be brave in Tuesday's Champions League clash at Bayern Munich, admitting their stuttering start leaves no room for error.
PSG are languishing just under the play-off section of the Champions League standings in 25th, having won one, drawn one and lost two of their four matches to date. Bayern are 17th with two wins and two losses.
The difficult start to the campaign has made things more challenging for the Ligue 1 leaders, Luis Enrique said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
"It's obvious that after four matches, including three at the Parc des Princes, with fair or unfair results, unfair for me, we have to have good results to qualify," he said.
"We made things difficult for ourselves. Football is what it is. You have to score.
"We will give it our all, we will be brave, we will take risks, as we usually do."
Bayern have won their last three games against PSG in the Champions League, with the French side failing to score in each of those matches.
Luis Enrique accepts it will be a tough match and that his side need to perform above and beyond.
"It is very clear that we are two teams that are similar. We want to have the ball, we press very high... we have similar statistics," he said.
"We are among the best teams with goal chances, but there will only be one ball. And so one team will have to suffer. Them, or us.
"We'll probably have to go further against Bayern. Run more, raise the level, especially against Bayern at home."
Aguero: 'Not wise' to rule Man City out of title race yet
Sergio Aguero insists it is "not wise" to rule out the prospect of Manchester City catching Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool opened up an eight-point gap at the summit on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Southampton, a day on from City's humiliating 4-0 home loss to Tottenham.
It marks the second-biggest lead by a team at the top after 12 matches of a Premier League campaign, bettered only by Manchester United's nine-point advantage in 1993-94.
However, City have previously made up ground when trailing Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to win the title – the latter by 10 points in 2018-19.
And Aguero, a five-time Premier League title winner with City, has warned Liverpool that history could yet repeat itself this season.
"Pundits are always quick to call the race and my response is always the same: it ain't over until it's over," he told Stake.com.
"The current point advantage may be insignificant by the end of the season. We've seen that happen frequently.
"The 2011-12 season had us eight points below United and we took that trophy."
City are the first reigning English top-flight champions to lose five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.
Three of those losses have come in the Premier League, which Opta's supercomputer now gives Pep Guardiola's side just a 15.4% chance of winning.
That compares to 76% for Liverpool, but those percentages could swing drastically should City pick up three points at Anfield when the sides face off next weekend.
"Beating Liverpool will certainly help," Aguero said. "But it's not wise to make such sweeping statements when the tournament still has a long way to go."
Leipzig in false Champions League position, says Inter's Inzaghi
RB Leipzig's lowly position in the Champions League standings does not reflect their performances, said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi ahead of their clash at San Siro on Tuesday.
Inter sit fifth in the 36-team group phase, having collected an impressive 10 points through four games, winning three in a row after starting with a draw at Manchester City.
Leipzig, meanwhile, are one of five teams still without a point.
If they lose on Tuesday, they will equal their longest-ever losing run in the competition, having lost five straight between February and October 2021 – two under Julian Nagelsmann and three under Jesse Marsch.
"Leipzig are a team that has been in the Champions League for six years and until Saturday they had the best defence in the Bundesliga," Inzaghi told a press conference on Monday.
"In the four Champions League matches they have played they deserved more, they have only clearly lost against Celtic.
"They have a coach [Marco Rose] who has been there for many years, they have many quality players and the ranking does not reflect their performances in Europe. We know that we are facing a strong team".
Leipzig, who are third in the Bundesliga after losing 4-3 at Hoffenheim on Saturday, kicked off their European campaign with a 2-1 loss at Atletico Madrid and home defeats by Juventus (3-2) and Liverpool (1-0). They lost 3-1 at Celtic last time out.
Inter, meanwhile, are unbeaten in 11 home matches in the competition (nine wins, two draws), keeping nine clean sheets during that run. Inzaghi, however, says they have further gears to find.
"We always have to work harder, this positive moment is the best to push and improve even more," Inzaghi said, reflecting on Saturday's 5-0 win at Verona in Serie A.
"We always try to see where we can do better. On Saturday in Verona, we scored five goals in one half, but we saw where we made some mistakes that could have cost us dearly.
"Last year it was one thing, this year it's different. Both in the league and in the Champions League there are many pitfalls."
Inter, who won the Scudetto last season and were Champions League runners-up in 2023, are third in Serie A, one point behind Napoli and level with second-placed Atalanta.
Midfielder Davide Frattesi is likely to miss the Leipzig game but Inzaghi will hope to have midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and forward Lautaro Martinez available.
"Frattesi has been having a little problem with his ankle for 10 days. It will have to be evaluated. Yesterday it gave him some problems and today he didn't feel at his best," Inzaghi said.
"Calhanoglu and Lautaro were absent in Verona but had two good training sessions yesterday and today. Tomorrow morning, I will evaluate the lineup."
Calhanoglu was substituted at half-time in Turkiye's match against Wales on November 16 with a muscle issue, while Martinez, who scored in Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru, fell sick as he returned from international duty.
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