While most of the world will undoubtedly be paying close attention to the matchup between Barcelona and Manchester City, a smaller portion will take note of an equally engaging Champions League draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayer Leverkusen.
The two teams enter this matchup with similar chances of passing into the quarterfinals. Here is a preview of what each side has to offer.
Bayer Leverkusen
The German side is currently the second best team in the Bundesliga and has a record of 14 wins, one draw and six losses. The team is led offensively by Stefan Kiessling who has scored 10 goals on the year; however, Heung-Min Son has eight goals and Sidney Sam also has seven making this team more varied in its attacking threats.
Leverkusen finished second in Group A of the Champions League with some erratic play. The team was destroyed 4-2 against Manchester United in its opener before taking down Real Sociedad 2-1 at home. The third game of the group round was 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk while the rematch with the Ukrainian side was a 0-0 draw. The team looked primed to take over the group but was dominated 5-0 at home by Manchester United; only a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the final match of the group stage saved Leverkusen's chances at the knockout rounds.
The team has never lifted the Champions League trophy but came close in 2001-02 when it lost 2-1 against Real Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain
France's best team currently leads the Ligue 1 with a whopping 58 points in 25 games this season. The team has a record of 17 wins, seven draws and just one loss and has had goalscoring from two main sources. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to be the team's top gun with 19 goals on the year while summer addition Edinson Cavani has 13 goals on the year; Ibrahimovic has also contributed a team-leading nine assists. It is worth noting that Paris Saint-Germain has not lost a single game in its last five and has recorded a record of three wins and two draws in that span.
Paris finished atop Group C in the Champions League with a record of four wins, one draw and one loss.
Paris Saint-Germain Will Win If...
It lets its forwards dictate the play. This team is undoubtedly the favorite in this match and has a lethal combo up front. If the team manages to provide those two forwards with sufficient service and opportunity to shine there is no reason why Paris will not be able to put together a win.
Bayer Leverkusen Will Win If...
The team takes advantage of home field advantage. The team has a record of eight wins, one draw and two losses at home and needs to shut down PSG's dynamic duo to have any chance of finishing on top at home. This will likely be a tentative match from Bayer as the team looks to minimize the damage it takes and potentially knockout PSG with some counter attacks.
The match kicks off at 2:45 p.m. EST and can be streamed online on Fox Soccer 2 Go. It can also be viewed on Fox Deportes; ESPN Deportes radio is also streaming the match.
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