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Chelsea captain John Terry will miss Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie with Paris St-Germain at Stamford Bridge because of a hamstring injury sustained in February.
Striker Diego Costa is fit after missing Saturday’s Premier League draw against Stoke with a tendon problem.
Editor’s Note: Chelsea will be looking to overturn PSG’s slender advantage from the first leg in front of their own fans at Stamford Bridge this Evening. Even though they lost in the French Capital the last time these two sides met they are still very much in the tie.
That is mainly down to the crucial away goal from John Obi Mikel who managed to level the match just before the break. It looked like Chelsea were going to come away with a resilient draw but a Edinson Cavani goal with just under 15 minutes to go meant it was first blood to Chelsea.
Laurent Blanc’s PSG served up Guus Hiddink’s first defeat since he took over for the second time as Interim Manager and the Dutchman will no doubt be looking to reap revenge not just personally but also for the club as Laurent Blanc masterminded a win here last season to dump Chelsea out of the competition.
Winning the tournament will be the only likely route back into the Champions League for Chelsea next season as although they are unbeaten since December in the League they’ve left themselves too much to do to get a Top 4 place after such a poor start to the season under previous Manager Jose Mourinho.
Last time out they draw 1-1 at home to Stoke and were in front thanks to a Bernard Traore goal but Stoke managed to snatch a draw late on thanks to a header from Mame Biram Diouf. That Draw sees Chelsea stay 10th in the Premier League table.
Their opponents PSG were held at home to Montpellier in a goalless stalemate on Saturday and even though they dropped two points it’s just a matter of when and not if they win the French League title for another season.
With Domestic honours all but wrapped up the focus is now on European silverware and joining the upper echelons of Europe’s elite. You get the feeling that they aren’t taking as seriously and won’t be until a Champions League title is delivered. With no real tests in Ligue 1, this will certainly be a difficult hurdle to climb.
Chelsea will no doubt miss John Terry and again will have Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic at Centre Back although it must be said they did admirably well in the first leg. Will they have enough in them to overturn their first leg deficit or will Zlatan Ibrahimovic get his own personal revenge for getting sent off in last season’s Stamford Bridge encounter
I’m going to stick my neck on the line and reckon it’s going to be the end of Chelsea’s Champions League hopes not just for this season but for next season also. It’s going to be two knockouts in a row for PSG over Chelsea, I’m even going to go for an away win. PSG to progress to the Quarter Finals for me.
