Slovan faces champions. Andraž Šporar speaks frankly: We must forget the DAC loss as soon as possible

Slovan has reached the Champions League league phase for the second time in its history. In the qualifying rounds, they successively overcame Iberia Tbilisi (2-0 away, 1-1 home), Mjällby AIF (2-1 away, 2-0 home), and NK Celje (1-1 home, 2-1 a.e.t. away). In the 2024/2025 season, under the management of Vladimír Weiss Sr., they failed to secure a single point in eight matches but gained valuable experience they now hope to leverage.

However, after a promising start to the season, two domestic league defeats followed—at home against Michalovce (1-2) and away at Dunajská Streda (0-2)—leaving the defending champions in 4th place in the current standings.

"We have to forget the loss to DAC as quickly as possible and lift our heads. In Paris, we must show more fight and creativity. If we play at the Parc des Princes like we did against DAC, we'll be in big trouble. I believe we will improve and deliver a performance like we did in the second leg of the play-off in Celje," said striker Andraž Šporar.

The Parisians are also not in ideal form ahead of Wednesday's clash. They have failed to win any of their opening three Ligue 1 matches and have only two points to their name. In their final warm-up on Friday, they lost 2-1 at home to Monaco, but their coach Luis Enrique remains calm and confident of a quick turnaround in results.

"We have a seven-point deficit, but I'm convinced we'll close it quickly. We were unlucky against Monaco; the opponent scored two goals from two shots on target. If we played against Monaco ten times, we would win eight, draw one, and lose one," stated Enrique.

PSG will be aiming to win the 'Big Ears' trophy for the third consecutive time, a feat only previously achieved by Real Madrid (1956-1960, 2016-2018), Ajax Amsterdam (1971-1973), and Bayern Munich (1974-1976). This will be the third encounter between Saint-Germain and Slovan in Paris. They previously met in the Europa League group stage in the 2011/2012 season. After a 0-0 draw at Pasienky in Bratislava, the home side secured a narrow 1-0 victory in Paris, thanks to a goal from Argentinian Javier Pastore.

Slovan's other Champions League opponents are VfB Stuttgart at home (October 14th, 9:00 PM), AS Roma away (October 20th, 9:00 PM), LASK Linz away (November 3rd, 9:00 PM), Real Betis Sevilla at home (November 24th, 9:00 PM), Shakhtar Donetsk at home (December 9th, 6:45 PM), and LOSC Lille away (January 19th, 2027, 9:00 PM). The 'Sky Blues' will conclude their league phase campaign on January 27th, 2027, at 9:00 PM at Tehelné pole against Inter Milan.

The top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th will enter a play-off round. The final of the 72nd edition of Europe's most prestigious club competition is scheduled for June 5th, 2027, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.

The PSG vs. Slovan match kicks off on Wednesday, September 9th, at 9:00 PM CEST at the Parc des Princes and will be officiated by a team from Ukraine. Mykola Balakin will serve as the main referee.