Houllier: PSG too strong for Leverkusen

Former Paris Saint-Germain coach Gerard Houllier has backed his former side to overcome Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League.

PSG travel to the BayArena on Tuesday for the first leg of their last 16 tie and Houllier believes the visitors will have too much for their Bundesliga hosts.

Laurent Blanc’s side only lost once during the group stages of this season’s competition and arrive in Germany unbeaten in five matches in all competitions.

Houllier believes the French champions have made great strides in recent months and expects them to prevail and book a quarter-final place.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult (for Leverkusen) because Paris have become more mature and stable in recent months,” he told the official Bundesliga website.

“This is a team that can go a long way.

“Bayer have a good team with a great coach (Sami Hyypia) who I had as a player at Liverpool, but Paris are simply stronger.”

Houllier also believes that reigning champions Bayern Munich will take some beating in Europe’s premier club competition.

“Bayern certainly have the potential, but it’s a long way to get there,” he added.

“I really like this latest Bayern team, Pep Guardiola’s doing a great job.”