Chelsea vs PSG preview

March 10, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

PSG vs ChelseaHaving been pretty fortunate to avoid defeat at Parc des Princes, Chelsea will have to show considerable improvement if they want to make it to the quarter-finals.

PSG appear to have missed their chance in the 1-1 draw three weeks ago, but the Saints are not giving up on their place in the next stage.

With the Premier League trophy already in the bag, Chelsea can fully focus on their Champions League campaign and try to add to the 2012 title.

The Blues recently secured the first trophy of the season having pipped Tottenham to the League Cup title, while they now hold a five-point lead at the Premier League summit, with a game in hand.

However, while they were pretty convincing in the group stage, Jose Mourinho’s charges largely struggled in the first leg against PSG, with Branislav Ivanovic once again coming to the rescue.

But, seeing as the Blues are expected to produce a much better performance on Wednesday evening, you should know they are 2.05 (21/20) to win at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho will welcome back key midfielder Nemanja Matic from domestic suspension, with the Serbian recovering from an ankle injury he sustained while celebrating the Capital One Cup win.

This means that John Obi Mikel remains the only unavailable footballer, while Willian is set to be recalled to the starting line-up.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Courtois – Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta – Fabregas, Matic – Willian, Oscar, Hazard – Costa.

While quickly establishing domestic domination, Paris Saint-Germain have also proved their worth at the biggest stage, having largely impressed in each of the last there editions of Europe’s elite competition.

The Saints were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Barcelona and Chelsea in the previous two campaigns, but only after they had given a very good account of themselves.

This time, PSG completely outclassed Premier League leaders Chelsea in the first leg at Parc des Princes, but could not turn their dominance into goals and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

But, taking into account that the Saints appear to be in pretty good form at the moment, it is important to note they can be backed at 3.05 (41/20) to qualify.

Laurent Blanc has received some good news as both Thiago Motta and Yohan Cabaye resumed full training, although the latter is expected to start on the bench.

Lucas Moura and Serge Aurier did not make the trip to London, while David Luiz and Thiago Motta are vying for one place in holding midfield.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Sirigu – van der Wiel, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Maxwell – Verratti, Luiz, Matuidi – Pastore, Ibrahimovic, Cavani.

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