Chelsea travel to PSG on Wednesday for a mouthwatering first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.
Remember the Club World Cup final, anyone?
MORE — Champions League scores, schedule
Liam Rosenior’s young side will be up against it when they face the reigning European champs but Chelsea do have the advantage of knowing they can beat PSG, as they did it in the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey back in July. Cole Palmer inspired that win and after injury he’s almost back to his best as Chelsea aim to finish the season with a flourish in two cup competitions and seal their spot in the top four of the Premier League.
PSG once again sit top of the table in Ligue 1 but it has been far from smooth sailing for Luis Enrique’s side this season. They are just one point ahead of second place Lens in the French top-light and are in a real scrap for the title. They have also been sluggish in the Champions League and had to go through the playoff round, where they just edged past Monaco 5-4 on aggregate. Ousmane Dembele’s injury issues have hit them hard, but there is still so much quality in this PSG side.
For live updates and highlights throughout PSG vs Chelsea, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch PSG vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 4pm ET (March 11)
Venue: Parc des Princes — Paris, France
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
PSG team news, focus
Fabian Ruiz is out with an injury and he is the driving force of their midfield, while Joao Neves has been struggling with injury but should be back. It is hoped that star forward Ousmane Dembele could be fit to return for this game too and that would be a massive boost. Elsewhere the trio of Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are a formidable force from attacking midfield and will look to hit Chelsea on the counter early and often. Defensively PSG have struggled this season as goalkeeper Matvey Safonov has come in for Lucas Chevalier.
Chelsea team news, focus
The Blues have become a bit more pragmatic under Rosenior and they will need to dig in and defend extremely well to keep this tie alive after the first leg. Palmer, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro have been excellent in attack and Chelsea know that if PSG make similar defensive mistakes like they have recently, they will take advantage of it. Rosenior will look to keep it tight and give Chelsea a chance in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo will be extremely important to shield this Chelsea defense.
PSG vs Chelsea prediction
This is a really tough one to call because both teams are capable of the sublime but have made big mistakes. Go for an entertaining draw. PSG 2-2 Chelsea.