On Tuesday, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain will renew their rivalry and play in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal.
The Parisian side holds a 3-1 lead on aggregate after a huge victory at home. The team got goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore while Chelsea saw David Luiz score and own goal; Eden Hazard provided the only strike for Chelsea. Because of Hazard's penalty goal in the 27th minute, Chelsea only needs a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge to assure a spot in the next round. However, if the team concedes a single goal, then it will need to score three times to force extra time and four to qualify for the next round.
Paris Saint-Germain was never considered a perennial contender, despite getting past an easy group in the first stage of the tournament. PSG took down Olympiacos 4-1 in the opening game before winning 3-0 over Benfica in the second. The team then destroyed Belgian side Anderlecht 5-0 on the road but only managed a 1-1 draw against the same squad at home. In its fifth group game, PSG defeated Olympiacos 2-1 but lost 2-1 against Benfica at home.
The team then faced Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 and made easy work of the German side with a 4-0 win on the road. In the return leg, Paris won 2-1 at home.
Chelsea's group stage was far from ideal despite the Blues being drawn into a relatively easy group. Chelsea had to contend with Steaua Bucharest, Schalke 04 and FC Basel. The team's opening game was a shocking 2-1 loss at home against Basel. However Chelsea bounced back with a 4-0 win in Bucharest and a pair of 3-0 wins over Schalke. However the team lost to Basel in its fifth match before finishing the group round with a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharesti. In the round of 16, the Blues faced off against Galatasaray. In Turkey, Jose Mourinho's side managed a 1-1 draw and in the return leg the team scored twice and finished up with a 3-1 aggregate win.
Player to Watch: Edinson Cavani or Eden Hazard. The Paris Saint-Germain forward has underachieved throughout the year, despite scoring four times in the group stage of this tournament, and needs to step with the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. For Chelsea, Hazard must show up in a big way. He scored the penalty goal, but his team suffers when he is not the savior. He must be just that if Chelsea has any hopes of reaching the semifinals.
Prediction: Chelsea is unable to overcome the odds but wins up with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home.
The match kicks off at 3:45 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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