Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea; Predicted lineups and team news

Chelsea travel to Paris for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against French outfit Paris Saint-Germain in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final.

The Blues were beaten 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on that occasion but went on to qualify after Demba Ba scored a late goal at Stamford Bridge to give Chelsea a 2-0 home win, which sent the English side through on away goals.

José Mourinho will be keen to avoid a first leg deficit this time around and it’s his side who come into this knockout fixture as favorites to qualify.

Chelsea have the fresher squad having enjoyed the weekend off while the FA Cup 5th Round took place. PSG, on the other hand, missed their chance to go top of the Ligue 1 after throwing away a 2-0 advantage to draw 2-2 at home to Caen with Laurent Blanc’s side down to nine men.

Team News

Former Chelsea man David Luiz is almost certain to start this match alongside Thiago Silva after completing his €50m move to PSG last summer. The Brazilian defender will certainly have a point to prove against Mourinho, who was not particularly impressed with him last season.

Meanwhile, there are a host of injury concerns for the home side. Marquinhos, Yohan Cabaye, Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura all suffered various injuries at the weekend and will miss this first leg tie. Javier Pastore is also injured but star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fit and expected to lead the attack for Blanc’s men.

Chelsea have no such injury problems with John Obi Mikel the only first team player dead certain to miss out through injury.

Petr Cech may continue in goal after an impressive display against Everton, while Mourinho also confirmed Diego Costa will start the game after missing the last three Premier League matches through suspension.

Kurt Zouma is also in contention to play after his fine form in recent matches. However, Mourinho may go for the more experienced Gary Cahill this time around.

Predicted lineups