Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique urged his players to maintain their composure as they continue the defence of their Champions League crown in the first leg of a play-off against Monaco for a place in the last-16 of the 2026 tournament.
PSG go into the tie on Tuesday night at the Stade Louis II following a 3-1 defeat at Rennes in Ligue 1 on Friday night.
"We created as many chances in the game against Rennes as we did in the match against Marseille the previous week," said Enrique on the eve of the clash.
"Against Marseille, we scored five but we only scored one against Rennes while they were more clinical.
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"I expect the team to be more efficient on Tuesday night because of the individual quality of the players," he added.
"When you can create lots of chances it shows that you are better than the opponent – but you have to score. We want to rediscover that ability quickly."
PSG beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the play-offs for the last-16 in the 2025 competition.
In the following rounds, they carved through the English Premier League teams Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal to reach the final in Munich against Inter Milan.
They annihilated the Italian outfit 5-0 to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.
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"There’s no extra pressure or expectation surrounding this game, even if we’re facing PSG in the Champions League," said Monaco boss Sébastien Pocognoli.
"They are the defending champions, eager to prove themselves again this year and retain the trophy."
Monaco prepared for the game with a 3-1 romp over Nantes in Ligue 1.
Simon Adingra bagged a brace and Denis Zakaria added the third in a first-half barrage over a side battling against relegation to the second tier.
PSG are second and fighting for a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title and a 12th in the past 14 seasons.
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"The reality is that we are the underdogs," added Pocognoli who took over at Monaco last October.
"And we have to embrace that status and do everything we can to give ourselves a real chance of qualifying."
Monaco reached the Champions League final in 2004 where they were beaten by Jose Mourinho's Porto.
More than two decades later, Mourinho takes another Portuguese side, Benfica, to Real Madrid for the first-leg of the play-offs.
In other ties on Tuesday night, Borussia Dortmund entertain Atalanta and Galatasaray host Juventus.
The return legs in the games will take place on 25 February.
