UCL PREVIEW: Chelsea set to pounce on injury-ravaged PSG

Chelsea, fresh from a rare weekend off, travel to Paris to face injury-blighted Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their last-16 tie of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) at the Parc des Princes.

The shock defeat to third-tier Bradford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup in January allowed the Blues to rest over the weekend fifth round matches and prepare fully for the encounter in France.

The reigning French champions though played over the weekend and even lost Yohan Cabaye, Marquinhos, Serge Aurier and Lucas to muscle injuries during the home Ligue 1 game that saw them finish with just nine men and draw 2-2 after conceding two late goals.

The two sides met at the quarter final stage last season where PSG ran away with a 3-1 win at home. However, goals from Andre Schuerrle and Demba Ba helped Chelsea win 2-0 in the return to go through on away goals.

“They are much stronger. Now they have a great player up front in Diego Costa and super midfielders in (Cesc) Fabregas and (Nemanja) Matic. It will be complicated but we must think positive,” PSG captain, Thiago Silva, said.

But as they bid to reach the quarter-finals for the third season running, PSG need a positive result to take into the return in London on March 11 despite facing a “much stronger” Chelsea.

In Tuesday’s other game, Shakhtar Donetsk meet Bayern Munich for the first time in a competitive game bidding to record a first home win over Bundesliga visitors in 35 years.

Below are match backgrounds to Tuesday’s games.

PSG V CHELSEA

• PSG are aiming for a third successive appearance in the quarter-finals. A year ago at this stage a 4-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen set up a 6-1 aggregate success.
• Their 3-1 victory over Ajax on match day five made it 32 games unbeaten at home in UEFA competition (22 wins, ten draws) – Hapoel Tel-Aviv were the last European opponent to defeat PSG in the French capital, in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage. The Ligue 1 champions also overcame Barcelona (3-2) and APOEL (1-0) at home as they came second in Group F.
• The Parisian club have played nine matches against English sides with the record W2 D3 L4. At home it is W2 D1 L1.
• That 2004 win is Chelsea’s only triumph on French soil in six visits. In the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage they lost 1-0 at Olympique Marseille and also went down 3-1 at AS Monaco in the 2003/04 semi-final first leg, succumbing 5-3 on aggregate.
• Chelsea thrashed an Bordeaux team coached by Laurent Blanc 4-0 in London in the 2008/09 group stage before a 1-1 draw in France.
• The Blues are looking to reach a fourth quarter-final in five years, and a seventh in the last nine campaigns.
• In last year’s round of 16 a 1-1 first-leg draw at Galatasaray laid the platform for a 3-1 aggregate victory, Chelsea eventually going out to Club Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.
• The Londoners won their group for the ninth time in their last 12 campaigns, finishing as runners-up twice more in that period. Away from home this season they won at Sporting Lisbon (1-0) and at Schalke 04 (5-0) either side of a 1-1 draw at Maribor.

SHAKHTAR V BAYERN

• Shakhtar lost to German opponents at this stage in 2012/13 when they drew 2-2 at home to Borussia Dortmund, leading twice through Darijo Srna and Douglas Costa with Robert Lewandowski scoring Dortmund’s first equaliser. Shakhtar were beaten 3-0 in Germany, Mario Gotze getting the second goal.
• In last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, the Ukrainian champions drew 0-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen after a 4-0 away defeat.
• Shakhtar’s last four home games with Bundesliga visitors have ended in three draws and a loss. Their last success came against holders Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup first round when Mikhail Sokolovski’s goal earned a 1-0 first-leg win, although the ensuing 3-0 defeat in Germany meant it was in vain.
• Their home record against German clubs is W2 D3 L1. Overall it reads W5 D4 L5.
• Shakhtar’s most memorable encounter with a Bundesliga team was their 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen after extra time in the 2009 UEFA Cup final in Istanbul. Luiz Adriano scored the opening goal for a Shakhtar side including Andriy Pyatov, Srna, Olexandr Kucher and Ilsinho.
• This is Shakhtar’s third appearance in the round of 16, all in the last five seasons. Aside from the Dortmund reverse, they overcame Roma to reach the 2010/11 quarter-finals.
• This time round Mircea Lucescu’s men finished second in Group H, five points behind Porto. At home they were held 2-2 by Porto before a 5-0 success against BATE Borisov; they also won 7-0 away. When they lost 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao on match day five it was a fourth defeat in their last 19 UEFA Champions League home games, group stage to final, winning nine.
• Group H proved a personal triumph for Luiz Adriano who equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record – set in 2013/14 – of nine group stage goals.
• Bayern’s ten previous matches against Ukrainian clubs were all against Dynamo Kyiv, who beat the Munich outfit 3-0 (2-0 in Kyiv) over two legs to lift the 1975 UEFA Super Cup.
• Their last trip to Ukraine was in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League second group stage when they succumbed 2-0.
• Bayern have posted a solitary win, one draw and three defeats in Ukraine.
• Last term Bayern eliminated Arsenal at this stage for the second successive season on their way to a third semi-final appearance in a row.
• Winners of Group E by a seven-point margin, Josep Guardiola’s charges won away against CSKA Moscow (1-0) and Roma (7-1) and lost 3-2 at Manchester City.