PSG vs Chelsea Betting Tips and Predictions

PSG have swept aside all before them in Ligue 1 this season and could probably afford to lose all of their remaining 12 matches and still win the title such is the enormous gulf between themselves and the rest. They did drop points at the weekend, drawing 0-0 against Lille but unquestionably had one eye on this match and they are one of the few sides in the competition that can really focus all their efforts on the Champions League and Laurent Blanc will have probably been preparing for this match ever since the draw was made.

Chelsea will also have been putting a big focus on it but for very different reasons. Despite being unbeaten in 12 matches since Guus Hiddink took charge they remain in the bottom half of the Premier League and have no realistic chance of qualifying for this competition next year unless they win it.

The Champions League was the only competition that Jose Mourinho had any real success in this season as the Blues won a fairly weak group but any hopes of an easier knock-out tie were quickly dashed when PSG came out of the hat. A harder tie they couldn’t have wished for from the sides that finished 2nd in their groups and they have unpleasant recent memories of clashes with the French club.

PSG knocked them out at this stage last season despite Chelsea picking up a solid 1-1 draw in the 1st Leg in Paris and having a one man advantage for most of the 2nd. The Londoners were also beaten 3-1 at the Parc des Princes in the 2014 Quarter-Finals but did come back to win on away goals after a 2-0 win in London.

Unquestionably though the tide of power has turned towards the French club since then and they were fully deserved winners of last year’s tie at this stage. Chelsea may have gone well under Hiddink but they’ve not faced a game of anything like this magnitude and having lost the likes of Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba over the past couple of years, you have to wonder whether they have the experience and leadership all over the pitch to really challenge the best teams in Europe on big European nights such as this.

PSG have only lost one Champions League home game since their owners took charge and pumped millions into the club. Since losing to Barcelona in last year’s Quarter Finals, they’ve won 21 of their 24 home matches in all competitions, drawing the other 3 and at 7/10 you can back them to win another one here.

Chelsea are more open and attack-minded under Hiddink than they were Mourinho and aren’t likely to completely park the bus as they did to some extent in this game last year, certainly after they’d taken the lead. PSG have conceded in 4 of their last 7 at home and Chelsea netted 5 times at the weekend so an away goal is a real possibility but PSG’s all-round quality could see them dominate large portions of the game and a 3-1 home win looks a pretty decent shout at 14/1.

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