Preview
Chelsea welcome PSG to Stamford Bridge in a match which we must win in order to progress to the Champions League quarter finals. The Blues will have to go out from kick off and attack as nothing but a win will be enough to progress.
PSG currently lead the tie 2-1 on aggregate therefore Chelsea will progress with a win in which PSG fail to score, Chelsea win the match by 2 or more goals and also on penalties if the game finishes 2-1 after extra time.
Despite going unbeaten in 35 Ligue 1 matches, PSG have failed to win one in their last two matches having lost 2-1 away to Lyon then drawing 0-0 against Montpellier on Saturday.
A key factor in Wednesday’s game will be the fitness of Diego Costa, Marco Veratti and Blaise Matuidi.
If Chelsea are to have a good chance of progressing to the next stage we will need Diego Costa leading the line. Since Guus Hiddink’s arrival our striker has been on excellent form and looked like the Costa of last season. However despite his good form he has never found his feet in the Champions League under Chelsea but under his current form a lot would bet that could easily change on Wednesday.
Veratti and Matuidi also form a strong part of PSG’s midfield and having them in the middle at Stamford Bridge would certainly make it a lot harder for Chelsea to break them down and get the all important goals we need to turn this tie around.
Match Details
Wednesday, 9th March, kick off 7:45pm at Stamford Bridge on BT Sport Europe.
Recent Form
Chelsea have managed to claim 3 wins from our last 5 games coming against Man City, Southampton and Norwich. The other 2 results ended in a draw to Stoke and a loss to PSG in the first leg.
PSG’s form has slightly dropped recently after an extremely impressive start to the season. PSG have also won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their 5 games in all competitions.
Team News
It remains uncertain whether Pedro will be fit enough to face PSG. The Spaniard has been back in training and on the pitch but before he can return to match action he needs to fully recover from his hamstring injury in order to prevent it reoccurring.
John Terry is another player who will be touch and go until kick off. Hiddink however said he will not rush the skipper back which has lead to numerous papers such as The Mail reporting that he is set to miss the 2nd leg at Stamford Bridge.
Nemanja Matic will also return for Chelsea having missed the first leg due to suspension.
For PSG, Blaise Matuidi and Marco Veratti are both doubts. One player who will certainly miss out is Serge Aurier who is still suspended by the club after his recent periscope rant over Laurent Blanc.
My Prediction
Chelsea 1-1 PSG.
