CHELSEA
VS
PSG
Stamford Bridge
11th March; 19:45 GMT
Chelsea host PSG in the second leg of the round-of-16 tie in the Champions League and are favorites to progress against the Parisians who couldn’t make their home advantage count despite dominating the game.
The blues will be wary of PSG’s attack as they have been in good form off late after dispatching Monaco and Lens in their last two games and created a lot of chances against Chelsea in the last leg. Mourinho’s men kept a clean sheet in the tie last season as they beat PSG 2-0 at home to win the tie on away goals and will hope to put in a similar defensive showing again.
Lineups and tactics
Chelsea
The blues have kept two clean sheets in the last two games and have Kurt Zouma to thank for that as the Frenchman has filled in well for Nemanja Matic during his suspension in the domestic games. Zouma could however be dropped back to the bench for tonight’s game as Matic is expected to play despite suffering a minor injury while celebrating the Capital One Cup win against Tottenham.
Cesc Fabregas is expected to start alongside Matic in the double pivot in front of the defense. Fabregas will have his chances to deliver his trademark passes from deep for Diego Costa, who will lead the line, as PSG will attack Chelsea from the word go simply because they have to score an away goal if they are to progress. Chelsea cannot afford to be too defensive as PSG have enough firepower to hurt any side as they showed in the group stages and in the last leg when they created a lot of chances but simply couldn’t score. Gary Cahill and John Terry will be expected to face the music in defense with Filipe Luis and Branislav Ivanovic playing as the fullbacks.
Chelsea will get their chances on the counter and with the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian and Diego Costa in attack, they are one of the best counter-attacking teams in Europe. Thibaut Courtois had a brilliant game in Paris and could be tested in London as well.
Probable XI: Courtois; Luis, Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Costa
PSG
Laurent Blanc’s men once again face elimination just like last season, but unlike then, they will have to attack from the onset. PSG are at their best when they attack teams and with Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi at their disposal, we could see them create a lot of chances once again.
Blanc went with a 4-3-3 formation against Chelsea at home with David Luiz playing the holding role supported by Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi. Tonight, however, Blanc might sacrifice either Verratti or Matuidi for Javier Pastore who has been in good form off late. With PSG needing a goal, Pastore will provide more threat compared to the Matuidi or Verratti. Although they could leave themselves vulnerable to the Chelsea counter-attack, it won’t matter if they concede a goal as their objective will still remain the same. As a result, we could see PSG play with a bit of freedom.
In defense, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos will form the all-Brazilian center back pairing supported by Maxwell and Gregory van der Wiel in the full-back areas. PSG will target certain areas in the Chelsea team and Matic could be exposed tonight by the strength of Ibrahimovic and Cavani upfront especially when he hasn’t played the last two games.
Probable XI: Sirigu; Maxwell, Silva, Marquinhos, Van der Wiel; Luiz, Pastore, Verratti; Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi
Facts
- Chelsea are undefeated in their last seven Champions League games.
- Chelsea have conceded twice in three home games in the Champions League this season, a potential weakness.
- At the same time, PSG have scored in every away game this season including the Camp Nou.
Prediction
While Chelsea are full of confidence after their League cup win and the Derby win over West Ham last week, PSG’s attacking threat could expose their defense. If PSG score the first goal then we could have a cracking game.
Full-time score: Chelsea 2-2 PSG
Blast from the past
