Paris Saint-Germain and Bayer Leverkusen will face off in the Champions League round of 16 second leg on Wednesday.
This tie is essentially over by most counts. Paris Saint-Germain struck four times in the first leg and opened up a 4-0 aggregate lead; it is essential to note that all four goals were scored in Germany, meaning that Leverkusen would need to win by at least 5-1 in order to secure passage to the next round.
Is this feat even plausible? In 41 games this season Paris Saint-Germain has only conceded two goals on four occasions; the team has not conceded more than two goals in a single game all year long. Moreover, PSG has only lost one game in the French League; the team was only defeated once in the UCL and also lost one game in the Coupe de France. That is a total of three losses in an entire season. An even more damning statistic: in those three losses the team has conceded a total of six goals. Paris lost 2-1 against Benfica in the UCL, 2-0 against Evian Thonon Gaillard in the domestic league and 2-1 against Montpellier in the Coupe de France.
And those numbers might explain why this team seems rather confident about the game at home on Wednesday. Most coaches usually warn their teams against complacency, but coach Laurent Blanc did not even seem to deem it that necessary to act cautious about the upcoming game.
"We're not necessarily afraid of very much," Blanc said, according to ESPN. "Tomorrow we'll play to win as we have done since the start of the season. We have to confirm what we did very well in the first game. Tomorrow, there is a match to win and we have to prepare ourselves for that. We've been preparing well since Monday and I hope that tomorrow we'll give the best of answers. We're at home so it's up to us to play, create the chances to win the game. We don't have to fear anything."
Bayer Leverkusen enters the game on a six-game winless streak which includes the 4-0 loss against PSG. The last time the German side won was back on Feb. 7 against Borussia Monchengladbach. This team is likely hungry for a win, but does it have the talent to overcome a titanic side like PSG?
Paris Saint-Germain enters the match on a nine-game unbeaten run and a five-game winning streak in which the team has combined for a total of 16 goals scored.
Player to watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two goals in the first leg and has a total of 10 in the UCL this season. He will undoubtedly look to add to his goal count and potentially even take over the tournament lead from Cristiano Ronaldo who has 11.
Prediction: PSG wins 3-0; Ibrahimovic scores all three goals.
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 Soccer Plus.
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