PSG – Chelsea

The French champion will win the home game against the London club.

In Paris, one of the most intriguing Round of 16 clashes in the Champions League will take place. The PSG–Chelsea rivalry was very noticeable from 2012 to 2016, when the teams crossed paths almost every season in Europe’s elite tournament. The last time the clubs met in the Champions League was precisely at the Round of 16 stage. Then the rivalry also began in Paris, and both matches ended with the French champions winning 2:1. For the first time in ten years PSG and Chelsea played in July last year in the United States. Fate brought them together in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. Before the decisive match, hardly anyone bet on the London club, but the Blues took to the field and crushed the Champions League winner 3-0. The Parisians have something to prove to their upcoming opponent, however now in Luis Enrique’s squad there is more worry than confidence in their own powers. Not even the latest results in Ligue 1 and the Champions League are to blame, but an incredible frequency of errors, made both by defenders in defending their own goal and by forwards in finishing chances against others. However, Chelsea is in roughly the same situation. In the first days of January the London club parted ways with Enzo Maresca and appointed Liam Rosenior to the coaching post. The English specialist before moving to the capital club coached Strasbourg, which competes in the top tier of French football. Chelsea’s results over the last couple of months are hard to call outstanding. Bookmakers have identified the home team as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.86 on their victory. PSG lost to Monaco again in the league on Friday. Again the defeat was down to dreadful defensive errors and creativity in attack that had vanished somewhere. Fortunately, in the playoff round of the Champions League the Parisians still managed to get past Monaco. Largely due to red cards in the opponent’s squad in each of the two matches. Chelsea looks like a much higher-level opponent than Monaco. At the same time, the Blues themselves are far from their best football. In two months under Rosenior Chelsea lost to Arsenal three times, dropped points in matches with Burnley and Leeds. The visiting coach knows PSG well from his work in Ligue 1, but in Paris the chances of the French champions look more favorable.