Chelsea vs PSG – News and Probable Lineups

Chelsea must mount an impressive comeback if they aim to keep their Champions League aspirations alive against Paris Saint-Germain’s defense of their title.

The two teams face off again at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday for the second leg of their last-16 clash, following PSG’s dominant 5-2 win in the first leg in the French capital.

Match overview

Chelsea fell behind twice to the reigning European champions at Parc des Princes in the initial leg, managing to equalize both times, but ultimately had no answer to PSG’s third, fourth, and fifth goals.

A crucial substitution made a significant impact for PSG; with the score tied at 2-2 in the 62nd minute, head coach Luis Enrique introduced Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who assisted Vitinha before scoring two remarkable goals himself.

With their dreams of Champions League success under serious threat, Chelsea finds themselves in a challenging position as they have only faced a three-goal deficit in a European away match for the second time— the first being against Real Zaragoza in the 1994-95 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals, where a 3-1 win at home proved to be inconsequential.

To compound the disappointment for head coach Rosenior, Chelsea has now suffered their third defeat in five matches across all competitions, following a 1-0 loss in the Premier League against Newcastle United on Saturday, a match marred by an unprecedented incident involving the referee.

Referee Paul Tierney was oddly ‘trapped’ in the midst of Chelsea’s pre-match huddle— which the Blues habitually perform around the ball in the center circle— prompting Rosenior to tell the official to “focus on his job” after a second-half penalty was denied.

However, Chelsea’s defense failed to “focus on their job” in the last 20 minutes of the first leg against PSG, with the visitors’ hopes of securing back-to-back Champions League titles still very much intact.

With Kvaratskhelia’s late heroics, PSG seem well on their way to a quarter-final matchup against either Galatasaray or a struggling Liverpool side, with both being considered underdogs against last year’s champions.

PSG’s impressive first-leg triumph provided payback for their 3-0 defeat against Chelsea in the Club World Cup final last summer, and the Parisians have had a weekend free from Ligue 1 football to prepare for their journey to London.

In London, PSG will aim to secure their fifth win out of six away fixtures across all competitions, marking their fourth trip to Stamford Bridge overall and their first in nearly a decade.

The Parisians managed a 2-1 victory in the second leg of their UCL 2015-16 last-16 tie, thanks to goals from Adrien Rabiot and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and they have only suffered one defeat in their past four encounters at Chelsea’s home ground.

Team News

Last week’s thrilling seven-goal showcase in Paris was slightly overshadowed by Pedro Neto’s inexplicable incident involving a PSG ball boy, which could result in a one-match ban as UEFA investigates the matter.

Currently, however, Neto is eligible to play in the second leg after serving a coincidental Premier League ban over the weekend, and his return would be particularly beneficial as Estevao Willian and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens continue to recover from hamstring injuries.

Levi Colwill (knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping ban) will definitely not feature for the hosts, while goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen— who struggled in Paris— is doubtful due to a groin complaint.

On the other hand, PSG have had no matches to contend with between the first and second legs, so Enrique is anticipated to bring an unchanged squad from last week.

Only Fabian Ruiz (knee) and 18-year-old winger Quentin Ndjantou (hamstring) are likely to miss out for the visitors, whose midfielder Vitinha has netted in three consecutive UCL games against English teams.

Enrique faces an excellent selection dilemma in the forward positions, as Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele all contributed to at least one goal last week.

Chelsea probable starting XI:

Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Peter

Paris Saint-Germain probable starting XI:

Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola

Rosenior’s tactics for Chelsea are becoming increasingly transparent, and the team’s shaky defense poses a risk of being exploited by PSG’s formidable attackers.

While Les Parisiens have a history of falling short in second-leg scenarios, this is not akin to Barcelona 2017, so Enrique’s champions are expected to progress to the last eight comfortably.