Omens point to Paris success as Basel visit

Paris Saint-Germain's remarkable resilience at home does not augur well for FC Basel 1893 as they look to close the gap on their hosts, who share top billing in Group A with four points.

• It is a first competitive contest between the sides and the first time Paris have come up against Swiss opponents.

Match background

Paris
• Unai Emery's team drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal FC on matchday one, conceding an equaliser to Alexis Sánchez after Edinson Cavani had scored just 44 seconds in – Paris' fastest-ever UEFA Champions League goal. They also had Marco Verratti, along with Olivier Giroud, sent off in added time.

• On matchday two Paris overcame an early setback to run out 3-1 winners at PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, Cavani scoring twice in the second half.

• The French champions went out in the quarter-finals last season, the fourth successive year they met defeat at that stage.

• In Group A Paris had set high standards, scoring 12 goals and conceding only one in an away defeat at Real Madrid CF. Two home wins in the group – and a 0-0 draw with Madrid – helped maintain their impressive record on their own soil.

• In a run of 41 home European games since losing to Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage, Paris have been beaten only once, 3-1 against FC Barcelona in the 2014/15 quarter-final first leg (W25 D15).

Basel
• The Swiss champions also drew their opening fixture 1-1, Renato Steffen coming to the rescue 11 minutes from time after Ludogorets had taken a surprise lead in Basel. They then went down to two early Arsenal goals in London.

• Baselwere in France last season, for a UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie against AS Saint-Étienne. They lost 3-2 but those away goals proved crucial after a dramatic 2-1 win in the return.

• They went out in the round of 16 at the hands of eventual champions Sevilla FC, coached by Emery. They drew 0-0 at home but lost 3-0 away, a game in which Grzegorz Krychowiak played.

• Basel's record in 11 matches against French opponents is W4 D4 L3 (W0 D2 L2 in France).

• This is their seventh group stage campaign. Two seasons ago they lost three of their four away matches, succumbing 5-1 at Real Madrid CF on matchday one and then 1-0 at Ludogorets.

• A 1-1 draw at Liverpool FC ensured they went through as Group B runners-up for their first appearance in the knockout rounds since 2011/12. In the round of 16 a 1-1 home draw with FC Porto was followed by a 4-0 away defeat.

Coach and player links
• Serge Aurier and Seydou Doumbia won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, both scoring in the final shoot-out against Ghana in Bata. Adama Traoré and Serey Dié have also been team-mates with Ivory Coast.

• Birkir Bjarnason scored for Iceland in a 5-2 defeat against Blaise Matuidi's France in the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final at Stade de France.

• Grzegorz Krychowiak scored the deciding penalty in Poland's shoot-out win against Michael Lang's Switzerland in the UEFA EURO 2016 round of 16 at Saint-Etienne.

• In 2012 Emery coached Marek Suchý at Spartak Moskva for five months

• Germano Vailati was with FC Metz in Ligue 2 in 2009.

Match facts

Paris
• Thiago Motta is a yellow card away from a one-match ban.

• Paris are 11 matches unbeaten at home (W8 D3), since a 2-0 loss to AS Monaco FC in March. That is their only defeat on home turf in 39 matches.

• Paris have suffered two Ligue 1 defeats this season, as many as they did in the whole of last term.

• Cavani has scored 15 goals in his last 11 appearances for club and country.

• Lucas Moura has found the net in four of his last six Ligue 1 outings – three of his goals bizarrely coming in the 67th minute.

• Cavani scored twice as Uruguay beat Venezuela 3-0 on 6 October.

• Presnel Kimpembe received his first senior call-up by France on 4 October, replacing the injured Eliaquim Mangala in Didier Deschamps's squad.

Basel
• Basel have won seven of their eight away games in all competitions this season.

• Basel's 12-match unbeaten start to the season ended against Arsenal on matchday two.

• Three days later the Swiss champions' 11-game winning start to their domestic season ended with a 1-1 draw at home to FC Thun. Davide Callà came off the bench to salvage a point.

• Luca Zuffi, just back from an ankle problem, missed the Thun game and European Qualifiers in Hungary and Andorra after ligament problems resurfaced. However, he came off the bench in Saturday's 3-0 home win against FC Luzern.

• Marc Janko scored in Austria's 3-2 loss in Serbia on 9 October in the European Qualifiers. The 33-year-old now has 28 goals in 59 caps for his country.