On Wednesday night, defending Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain will host Chelsea at the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their big Round of 16 match. In the UK, TNT Sports 2 will show the game, and in the US, Paramount+ will stream it. The game will start at 8 p.m. UK time (3 p.m. ET).
This is the first time the two teams have met since the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final last summer, when Cole Palmer led Chelsea to a 3-0 win. PSG have moved on from their last three Champions League knockout matches against English teams, beating Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal in a row last season.
However, Luis Enrique’s team have had trouble being consistent this season, as shown by their 3-1 home loss to Monaco last Friday. Even though things have been shaky lately, the Spanish coach was sure of himself at the press conference before the game.
“We have no doubts whatsoever. We are going into the best part of the season and we need to be able to handle the step up.”
Since Liam Rosenior took over as manager in January, Chelsea have been on fire, scoring 38 goals and giving up 19 in 15 games. João Pedro, a Brazilian forward, has been their best player this season, scoring 14 goals and assisting five others in the Premier League. He has scored 21 goals in all competitions for the Blues this season, which makes him a real threat to the PSG defence on Wednesday.
Fabián Ruiz can’t play for the home team because of a knee injury, and Quentin Ndjantou can’t play because of a hamstring injury. João Neves should be back on the team after missing the last two games because of an ankle problem.
Estêvão and Jamie Gittens are unavailable to Chelsea, and Levi Colwill is still out for a long time. Liam Rosenior rested some key players, including Reece James, Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo, and Cole Palmer, during the 4-2 FA Cup win over Wrexham on Saturday. Because both teams have weak defences and strong attacks, this game at the Parc des Princes is likely to be high-scoring.
Prediction: Chelsea will beat PSG 2-1.
Predicted Starting Lineups for PSG vs Chelsea
Matvey Safonov is expected to start in goal for PSG, with Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, and Nuno Mendes in front of him. Warren Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, and João Neves are likely to be the three players in the middle of the field. Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Bradley Barcola should be the main attackers.
Robert Sánchez is expected to be in goal for Chelsea, with Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella in defence. Moisés Caicedo and Andrey Santos should be the main players in the middle of the field, and Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernández, and Pedro Neto should be behind striker João Pedro.
On Tuesday, March 17, the second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge. The team that wins the aggregate will move on to face either Galatasaray or Liverpool in the quarter-finals.