Real Madrid vs PSG: 5 key player battles that will decide the outcome of the match

The time has arrived for the headline act of the 2017/18 Champions League to get underway. Wednesday night will see the reigning champions Real Madrid take on Paris Saint-Germain - a team ready on all fronts to conquer the mighty Los Blancos.

It is a fight between a new contender to take over Europe with the help of a Brazilian prince against the wounded tigers who have struggled extensively this season but feature a beast of a king in their ranks. This match surely has all the ingredients to make it a modern day classic.

Just as any gigantic affair between two top sides, this fixture will be decided by the duels contested individually between the key players from both sides. Player battles often give us a vivid idea of one side's dominance over the other.

In this segment, we will take a look at the five key battles from Real Madrid's clash against PSG which most probably will decide the outcome of the match.

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#5 Gareth Bale vs Yuri Berchiche

Real Madrid will need Gareth Bale to fire on all cylinders

With Layvin Kurzawa in doubt for the game against Real Madrid, Yuri Berchiche will have a lot of focus on himself. It will be his biggest test in a PSG shirt so far. And he will be up against Gareth Bale on the right flank at the Bernabeu. The left-back will have no chances of losing momentum in the entire 90 minutes.

Gareth Bale is truly back in form and since his return from injury in January, the Welshman has played like a man on a purpose. Bale has scored 4 in his last 5 starts and started the game against Real Sociedad from the bench, with the manager deciding to keep him fresh for the PSG encounter.

Berchiche has impressed while deputising for Kurzawa with many judging him to be a far balanced left back than the Frenchman. He has taken his chances with aplomb but will need to be up for the challenge against Bale's pace and directness. Bale possesses a quality of changing the game in an instance and hence, PSG will need Berchiche to have a solid game against the forward.

#4 Kylian Mbappe vs Sergio Ramos

How will Sergio Ramos cope up with the pace and guile of Kylian Mbappe?

With Edinson Cavani in doubt for the first leg, Kylian Mbappe is expected to lead the line for the Parisians, just as he did effectively over the weekend against Toulouse. This fixture can be said as Mbappe's biggest and sternest test of his short but explosive career.

Mbappe has a knack of scoring in the big games as he showed for AS Monaco last time around. But authorized with the duty of marking him will be Real Madrid's captain Sergio Ramos. The Spaniard does not need an introduction. His ruthless style coupled with his leadership qualities make him one of the best in his business.

But Ramos will have his task cut out against the pace and trickery of Kylian Mbappe. The teenager is solid in aerial duels but will meet his match in the form of Ramos. The centre-back has struggled for form this season but there won't be a better stage and better opponent for the captain to dominate against and get back in full flow.

Mbappe has scored four goals in the Champions League this season and keeping him quiet can lead Real Madrid to the desired result.

#3 Luka Modric vs Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti will have to keep Luka Modric quiet

Dominating the centre of the park often creates a solid foundation for a team to go on and win the game. Big matches are often decided by which team wins the midfield battle. For these two sides, Luka Modric and Marco Verratti are the players that make them tick and effortlessly create a link between the defence and the attack.

With both sides having a stellar attacking unit, the onus will be on the midfield to create the sort of impact for the forwards to build their good work upon. Real Madrid rely on Modric's ability to take the game to the opponents and also on his collectiveness in tight spaces.

Marco Verratti, on the other hand, is PSG deep-lying creator. He helps in retaining possession, circulates the ball as quickly as possible, and shields the defence without the ball. He is as crucial to the Parisians as Neymar.

The way that he man-marked Lionel Messi out of the first leg of the round of 16 last season still remains fresh in memory. Real Madrid tick when Luka Modric gets to influence the proceedings and PSG can only stop that from happening if Verratti gets an upper hand over the Croatian.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo vs Thiago Silva

All eyes are on the big man

Real Madrid's biggest hope of overcoming the French challenge is undoubtedly Cristiano Ronaldo. The leading European goalscorer at the moment with nine goals has played brilliantly so far in the competition. 2018 has also been kind to the Portuguese until now with the forward even scoring a hattrick last Saturday.

Starting on the left, Ronaldo will cut inside and will play as a secondary striker to Karim Benzema against PSG. The job of handling Ronaldo's threat will be on the shoulders of none other than PSG's captain Thiago Silva. The Brazilian centre-back is considered by many as one of the best in the business but Silva has yet to prove his talents on the biggest of stages for the Parisians.

Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo offer him a perfect opportunity to shut his critics down and lead his side efficiently from the back. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been criticized a lot this season and the match against PSG has hence emerged as one of the biggest tests for the club's talisman in recent years.

#1 Neymar vs Nacho

Time to make the jump from being world-class to being the best in the world for Neymar

Well, it was for matches like this that Neymar decided to free himself from the shadows of Lionel Messi to be the main man at Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian is in the form of his life, scoring 28 goals in all competitions. With six of them coming in the Champions League, it is up to Neymar to now prove that he is ready to usurp the two powerhouses of world football.

Neymar has been good for PSG so far this season but will need to be at his electric best against an experienced Real Madrid side who possess the tactical know-how of getting over a tricky Champions League opponent. But the hosts will miss the services of Dani Carvajal at right-back which means that it will be Nacho who will be given the job of man-marking Neymar.

Nacho has impressed whenever called upon by Zinedine Zidane this season but this is an assignment of an altogether different magnitude. Neymar will be looking to make a mark in his first return to Spain and continue his goalscoring juggernaut.

Eventually, the final result of the tie will boil down to the fact of how successfully Nacho manages to negate the threat of Neymar, a challenge not passed by many this season.