Chelsea are expected to be without striker Samuel Eto'o, who has not recovered from the hamstring injury he picked up during his side's 6-0 drubbing of Arsenal. Fernando Torres is likely to start up front instead of the absent Eto'o. The London side are also without Ashley Cole due to a knee injury, as well as cup-tied duo Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah. Defender Thiago Silva is expected to feature for the hosts despite having a broken cheekbone, which means the French side have no notable injury or suspension problems.
Key Stats
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a focal point of this tie after scoring a club record 40 goals so far this season and the Swede will be looking to cause former manager Jose Mourinho trouble. The French side have won their last nine games and are unbeaten in 28 European matches at home, a run that stretches back to November 2006. The two sides have only met twice before, where Chelsea came out on top after a 3-0 victory on French soil and a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea conceded just two goals throughout March in all competitions, where their only defeat was this weekend's surprise loss at the hands of struggling Crystal Palace.
Likely Line-Ups
Paris St. Germain Sirigu, Jallet, Alex, Silva, Maxwell, Verratti, Motta, Matuidi, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi Chelsea Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Lampard, Ramires, Oscar, Willian, Hazard, Torres
Match Preview
This clash throws up a brilliant battle between contrasting philosophies as PSG's all-out attack will come up against the Blues counter-attacking style of play, which is hard to predict and will be thrilling to watch. Out of all of the quarter-finals, this is the tie most balanced on a knife edge. The home results will be the deciding factor in this game so it is down to the French club this evening to finish the game with a positive result, while Chelsea will be looking for some crucial away goals. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is able to propel his side to new heights single handedly and he has become a key asset since moving to French football. The Swede will be missing in action at the World Cup this Summer, so this is his chance to assert him stage on the big stage once again- which he enjoys to do both on the field and off it. The French side have been a dominate force in their domestic league this season and have transferred their fantastic ability over to the European stage and after only falling to Barcelona due to away goals last year, they'll fancy their chances against Mourinho's Chelsea. Chelsea are currently locked in an intriguing battle for the Premier League title, which could ultimately be their downfall in Europe. While they're usually defensively solid, the attack of the French champions poses a completely different threat to what the London side are used to dealing with. In truth, Chelsea will be happy to come away with a narrow defeat- as long as they have an away goal to take back to Stamford Bridge with them. Prediction 2-1 source- bbc
Josh has had work featured in the Evening Gazette and on Newcastle United website. He is a Multimedia Journalism student at Teesside University and runs a successful sports blog. He also enjoys films, comics and TV, writing about anything he can. Josh has recently started writing his first of what he hopes will be many books.
