Overview
The reigning Champions League champion Paris Saint-Germain is aiming to regain victory when hosting Chelsea in the first leg of the round of 16.
This is one of the most notable matches of this round, when the defending European champions face the very team that defeated them in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup last year.
PSG's ambition to win the Ligue 1 championship has just suffered a heavy blow at Parc des Princes after a 1-3 defeat to Monaco. This result makes the gap between the leading team and Lens only one point in the context of the season still 9 rounds left.
That defeat also meant that coach Luis Enrique's team for the first time in nearly 2 years could not win at home in 2 consecutive matches in all competitions.
However, PSG's focus will now be entirely on the Champions League, where they have won all five of their most recent knockout matches (including the first and second legs).
Three of those victories came against England's representatives last season. On the journey to the final, PSG successively overcame Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal, before crushing Inter to lift the championship trophy.
This year's campaign also has many similarities with the journey to win the championship last season.
Like last season when they defeated Brest with a total score of 10-0, PSG also had to overcome an opponent from Ligue 1 in the play-offs after only finishing 11th in the group stage.
It is possible that PSG will continue to face three consecutive English representatives on the way to the final, as Liverpool and Manchester City may be potential opponents in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
The Paris capital team is aiming for their 14th consecutive appearance in the Champions League round of 16. Among them, they have faced Chelsea three times and overcome the English representative in the last two times.
The last time the two teams met in the Champions League was in the 2015-2016 season. At that time, PSG won 4-2 overall after winning 2-1 in both home and away matches.
Only losing one of the last eight times facing English teams in European cups, PSG has reason to be confident. In the Champions League, only Bayern Munich and Barcelona (both four times) defeated Chelsea more than PSG (three times).
However, Chelsea still has a beautiful memory against PSG. 8 months ago, Cole Palmer shone brightly when he helped the London team win 3-0 in the Club World Cup final, with 2 goals and one assist for Joao Pedro to score.
Chelsea is also having impressive achievements in European knockout rounds, winning 13 out of 16 matches in the last two rounds, and also winning all three times they have participated in the Champions League round of 16.
Head-to-head record
Chelsea have lost three out of eight encounters with PSG in the Champions League. In the history of the league, they have only lost more against Bayern Munich and Barcelona (both 4 matches).
PSG is also the team that has won in the last two encounters between the two clubs in the Champions League. That was in the 2015-2016 season, when the French representative won 4-2 overall after two legs.
Since that defeat, Chelsea has won all 6 matches in the Champions League against French clubs. In the opposite direction, PSG also showed impressive form when winning the three most recent knockout matches in European cups against Premier League representatives.
Score prediction: PSG 0-1 Chelsea
The match between PSG and Chelsea takes place at 3:00 AM on March 12 (Vietnam time).
