Paris Saint Germain’s real test starts now as they face Premier League giants Chelsea in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. PSG have already proven that they can compete financially with anyone with some big money signings, but can their signings deliver on the pitch? We take a look at both the teams…
Probable line-ups
DEFENCE
Both PSG and Chelsea have impressive defensive records this season in their respective leagues, with PSG having a meaner defense. The French club have conceded just 18 goals in the league this season. However, the competition in the French league is not as fierce as in Europe, where they shipped in 6 goals in the group stages, as good as a goal every game, a potential area which Jose Mourinho will want to exploit. Thiago Silva and his young Brazilian partner Marquinhos will probably start at the center with Jallet and Maxwell occupying the full back positions.
Chelsea on the other hand have been defensively sound since the start of the year. Gary Cahill and John Terry have formed a solid defense with the ever impressive Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta which has seen them concede only 24 goals in the league and 3 goals in the Champions League group stages.
MIDFIELD
Chelsea clearly have the upper hand in this area of the park even though PSG purchased midfielder Yohan Cabaye in the winter transfer window. It is likely that Laurent Blanc will chose Mourinho’s former player Thiago Motta as the defensive cover along with deep lying playmaker Yohan Cabaye and Argentinian Javier Pastore at home. Marco Verrati might be an option when they travel to Stamford Bridge. Motta has 3 goals to his name in the league even though he is a defensive player.
Jose Mourinho is spoilt for choice when it comes to midfield. Andre Schurrle has been impressive whenever he has been chosen ahead of Willian and has a hattrick to his name. Oscar and Eden Hazard have been the the 2 main attacking players for Chelsea with the latter enjoying the best spell of his career and is their top scorer with 14 goals in the league. Defensive wise, Chelsea will miss the presence of Nemanja Matic who has been a rock, even silencing Yaya Toure. Matic is cup-tied as he appeared for Benfica in the group stages. Frank Lampard and David Luiz might be the best option for Mourinho as he faces an uphill task of neutralizing the likes of Ibrahimovic and Cavani.
ATTACK
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi at his disposal, Blanc will hope that any one of these men will have an inspired moment that is needed to separate the two compact sides. Ibrahimovic has been in inspired form this season as he leads the goal scoring charts in France with 25 strikes and isn’t far behind Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo either with 10 goals. Edinson Cavani struggled in the early parts of the season but has been impressive off late and has 14 goals to his name. Lavezzi or Lucas Moura can cause havoc with their pace and dribbling ability as well.
Chelsea’s forwards have struggled for consistency this season. Jose Mourinho signed Samuel Eto’o in the summer and he has been the only one who has looked impressive with 8 strikes. Fernando Torres has shown flashes of his past goal scoring exploits with Liverpool, and with Eto’o on the sidelines, he is likely to play. Demba Ba has rarely got the chance to play and it is unlikely that he will feature.
PREDICTION
A close encounter with PSG edging it in the end.
