Chelsea come up against a tough test tomorrow when we travel to the French capital to play Paris Saint-Germain in our Champions League last 16 tie.
Saturday was an evening to remember, as Pedro lead the charge to secure a brilliant 5-1 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. There was an attacking flair and a clinical ability in the final third that, that has rarely been seen this season.
Away to the French champions however Hiddink will take a more conservative approach, we will likely see a return to a Matic – Mikel midfield. With either Pedro or Hazard (Who was rarely seen against Newcastle) taking the bench in place of Mikel.
The game plan will be very familiar to Chelsea fans, sit back, hope not to conceded away, try and grab a goal at Stamford bridge. I wonder however what would happen if we tried to take the game to them. We have ‘World class’ players in Fabregas, Costa, Hazard (If he performs), Willian and Pedro. Do we need to take the conservative approach that has been a signature of Chelsea for the last 5 years? Comment below your ideas on the matter, i would love to hear what you have to say.
Team News
Chelsea
Loric Remy (Calf) was available for selection from the bench on Saturday, although goal scorer Traore was preferred to the French man, I expect him to be available and more likely to play on Tuesday. John Terry (Hamstring) limped off early into the match after a collision with Mitrovic, he is unlikely to be rushed back. Falcao (Thigh) is still unavailable for selction. Oscar (Calf) picked up an injury on training on Friday, may need to be examined before the game. Matic is suspended from todays game, due to picking up a yellow card in the last game of the group stages.
PSG
After recently recovering from injuries it is unlikely that either of Marco Verratti (Hamstring) or Pastore (Calf) will start on Tuesday due to lack of match fitness. Aurier has been suspended by PSG after comments he made about the manager, players and club on social media.
Predicted XI
Chelsea
Courtois, Azplicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Baba Rahman, Mikel, Fabregas, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Costa
PSG
Trapp, Van der Wiel, Silva, Luiz, Maxwell, Motta, Rabiot, Matuidi, Di Maria, Cavani, Ibrahimovic
Opponent stats
Played: 6
Won: 4
Drawn: 1
Lost: 1
Points: 13
Goals: 12
Conceded: 1
Clean sheets: 5
Home wins: 2
Home draws: 1
Home loses: 0
Top scorer: Angel Di Maria (3 goals)
Previous matches:
Chelsea (Cahill, Hazard) 2 – 0 PSG (Luiz, Silva)
Wednesday 11th March 2015
PSG (Cavani) 1 -1 Chelsea (Ivanovic)
Tuesday 17th February 2015
Chelsea (Schurrle, Ba) 2 – 0 PSG
Tuesday 8th April 2014
PSG (Lavezzi, Luiz (OG) Pastore) 3 – 1 Chelsea (Hazard)
Head to head:
Chelsea: 2
PSG: 3
Draw: 1
Form:
Chelsea: WDWDD
PSG: DWWWW
Match Details:
Date: Tuesday 16th February, 19:45
TV: BT Sport 1