Paris v Crvena zvezda facts

Paris Saint-Germain are looking to kick-start their UEFA Champions League season as they meet Crvena zvezda for the first time.

• The French champions, for whom this is a first match against Serbian opposition, are already playing catch-up in Group C having come back from two down at Liverpool only to eventually lose 3-2. Crvena zvezda picked up a point in their group stage debut by holding Napoli to a 0-0 draw in Belgrade.

Form guide
Paris
• Ligue 1 champions for the fifth time in six years in 2017/18, and seventh time overall, this is the French side's seventh successive UEFA Champions League campaign.

• Semi-finalists in 1995, Paris have been knocked out in the round of 16 in the last two seasons – having been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the four previous campaigns.

• Paris have scored in their last 17 UEFA Champions League games.

• The Parisian club lost their last home European game 1-2 to Real Madrid in the round of 16 second leg. That was only their second defeat in 47 European home games since crashing 4-2 to Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage (W30 D15) – they also went down 3-1 to Barcelona in the 2014/15 quarter-finals.

• Paris have lost their last four European matches – the worst run in their history, during which they have conceded 11 goals.

• The Ligue 1 side scored 25 goals in the 2017/18 group stage, a UEFA Champions League record.

Crvena zvezda 
• Champions of Serbia in 2017/18, when they reached the UEFA Europa League round of 32, Crvena zvezda came through four qualifying rounds to reach the group stage – the first time they had successfully negotiated the UEFA Champions League preliminaries at the seventh attempt.

• Crvena zvezda kicked off this season in the first qualifying round, where they got the better of Latvia's Spartaks Jūrmala 2-0 on aggregate. Lithuania's Sūduva were beaten 5-0 over two legs in the second qualifying round, before extra time secured a 2-1 away win at Slovakia's Spartak Trnava in the third qualifying round second leg to complete a 3-2 aggregate victory. They came from 2-0 down to draw at Salzburg in the play-off second leg, going through on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

• Crvena zvezda have lost only two of their last 18 European games (W7 D9).

• The Belgrade club have drawn two of their three European away games this season, and have lost only one of their last eight (W3 D4) – 1-0 at CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg to lose by the same aggregate scoreline. They have conceded only four goals in that run.

• Crvena zvezda's last trip to France brought a 3-2 defeat at Bordeaux in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League play-offs, their second successive defeat in the country and fourth overall in six visits (D2).

• The Serbian champions have won only one of their 12 fixtures against Ligue 1 opposition (D4 L7).

• This is only the third season Serbia has had a team in the group stage, after Partizan's participations in 2003/04 and 2010/11.

• Crvena zvezda are one of three newcomers to the UEFA Champions League group stage this season, alongside Hoffenheim and Young Boys.

Links and trivia
• Jonathan Cafú is on loan at Crvena zvezda from Bordeaux, who he joined in August 2017. He scored two goals in 19 Ligue 1 appearances last season.

• Has also played in France:
El Fardou Ben Nabouhane (Le Havre 2007–10, Vannes 2010–13)

• Thiago Silva scored in Brazil's 2-0 defeat of Serbia in this summer's FIFA World Cup group stage, Neymar also playing 90 minutes.

Latest news

Paris 
• Summer transfers
In: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Thilo Kehrer (Schalke), Juan Bernat (Bayern), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Stoke City)
Out: Thiago Motta (retired), Odsonne Édouard (Celtic), Javier Pastore (Roma), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Club), Jonathan Ikoné (LOSC Lille), Lorenzo Callegari (Genoa), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Lokomotiv Moskva, loan), Rémy Descamps (Clermont, loan), Yohan Demoncy (Orléans), Gaëtan Robail (Valenciennes, loan), Samuel Essende (Eupen, loan), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan), Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (Utrecht), Giovani Lo Celso (Betis, loan)

• Paris won the Trophée des Champions for the sixth year in a row and eighth overall with a 4-0 defeat of Monaco on 4 August. Ángel Di María scored twice, Christopher Nkunku and Timothy Weah getting the other goals.

• Having failed to win any of their last four Ligue 1 games in 2017/18 (D3 L1), Paris have kicked off the new campaign with a club record eight straight wins, scoring 27 goals.

• Thomas Tuchel's side have therefore matched the record for a best start to a Ligue 1 campaign, set by Olympique Lillois in 1936/37.

• Paris have scored three goals at least in each of their eight league games this season.

• Neymar, who scored twice in Saturday's 3-0 win at Nice, has seven goals in seven Ligue 1 matches this season.

• Thomas Meunier has found the net in his last three Paris appearances.

• The 4-0 win against Saint-Étienne on 14 September made Tuchel the first Paris coach to win his first five league games.

• Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored five minutes into his Ligue 1 debut having come on as a substitute in a 3-1 win at Rennes on 23 September.

• Dani Alves (right knee) and Layvin Kurzawa (back) are yet to play this season, although the former returned to training on 11 September.

• Nineteen-year-old Stanley N'Soki has signed a first professional contract with Paris, running until 2021.

Crvena zvezda
• Summer transfers
In: Srdjan Babić (Real Sociedad), Lorenzo Ebecilio (APOEL), Dejan Meleg (Kayserispor), Rashid Sumaila (al-Qadisiya), Nikola Stojiljković (Braga), Veljko Simić (Zemun), Miloš Degenek (Yokohama), Zoran Popović (Bodø/Glimt), Dušan Jovančić (Vojvodina), Milan Jevtović (Antalyaspor), Milos Čupić (OFK Beograd)*, Jonathan Cafú (Bordeaux), Damjan Gojkov (Bežanija)*, Andrija Luković (Voždovac)*, Draško Djordjević (Bežanija)*, Filip Bainović (Rad)*, Stefan Cvetković (Grafičar), Jovan Vićić (Drina Zvornik)*, Vanja Vučićević (Spartak Subotica)*, Milan Senić (Grafičar)*, Aleksandar Stanković (Grafičar)*, Lazar Romanić (Borac)*, Zé Marcos (Rad)*, Milan Pavkov (Radnički Niš)
Out: Aleksandar Pešić (Ittihad), Uroš Račić (Valencia), Luka Adžić (Anderlecht), Abraham Frimpong (Ferencváros), Mitchell Donald (Malatyaspor), Damjan Gojkov (Vojvodina), Filip Bainović (Rad), Draško Djordjević (al-Mojzel), Damien Le Tallec (Montpellier), Vanja Vučićević (Samara), Aleksandar Stanković (Grafičar), Jovan Vićić (Mačva), Andrija Luković (Voždovac), Miloš Čupić (Zlatibor), Dušan Andjelković (retired) Damir Kahriman (released), Milan Senić (released), Srdjan Babić (Real Sociedad), Luka Ilić (Manchester City)
*Not in UEFA Champions League squad

• Crvena zvezda are 34 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W26 D8), since the 1-0 loss at CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg, although they did lose on penalties in the Serbian Cup against Mačva on 14 March after a 0-0 draw.

• The Serbian champions won their first seven games in this season's Super League, making it 17 in a row, before being held 1-1 at Belgrade rivals Partizan on 23 September. They were 2-1 winners at home to Mladost Lučani on Saturday.

• Crvena zvezda captain Vujadin Savić has been out with a hamstring injury since matchday one; Milan Rodić has an ankle problem.

• Richmond Boakye has scored three goals in his last two Super League games, his first domestic appearances of the season.