Chelsea travel to the Parc des Princes for the stern test of Champions League holders PSG, who will target a more convincing performance after edging past Monaco to reach the round of 16 stage.
The Club World Cup finalists go head-to-head in the latter stages of the Champions League – Chelsea triumphed over the French giants 3-0 when they last met to claim the world champion status at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Two-time Champions League winners Chelsea finished sixth in the group stages, after an inspiring win against Napoli in Naples, they secured them automatic qualification to the last 16.
Over the weekend, the Blues went the distance against Championship side Wrexham in the FA Cup, ultimately advancing to the quarter-finals, but requiring extra time to secure the win at the Racecourse Ground.
Despite a rotated side, Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior would’ve hoped not to have his squad play 120 minutes before a European trip to Paris; however, the second-tier side played a good game.
Brazilian striker Joao Pedro has been in terrific form, with four goals with an assist in his last two games, which includes a hat-trick at Villa Park and on the scoresheet in north-east Wales as the Blues fight for a spot in the top four of the Premier League.
Estevão remains a doubt for the clash, while Englishmen Jamie Gittens and Levi Colwill are inactive with long-term injuries.
The Parisians narrowly secured victory in the knockout play-off stages, beating familiar opponents AS Monaco 5-4 on aggregate across two legs.
However, Monaco came back to haunt Luis Enrique’s side just a few days ago in Ligue 1, as they suffered their fourth league defeat in a 3-1 encounter in the French capital.
Despite sitting top domestically, they have a one-point advantage over northern French side RC Lens after 25 matches played, a title race that’s tensing up with each passing game.
A difficult tasks faces PSG to match their historic last season, having won five major honours last year. While they’ve struggled to match the tenacity of the past, they have an abundance of quality on the pitch to wreak havoc against any team in world football.
On the injury list, Joao Neves’ status is unclear, as he sustained an ankle injury in February, while Spanish midfielder Fabián Ruiz is a doubt managing a knee injury.
The match will take place on Wednesday night at 20:00 on TNT Sports.