European Nights: Chelsea FC Host PSG
Chelsea FC will be hosting Ligue 1 side Paris St-Germain in the 2nd leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout tie Wednesday evening at Stamford Bridge. The Blues let a 1-0 advantage slip away in Paris, but the benefit of the away goal can still come into play as long as the Chelsea defense can contain the Parisians, never an easy thing to do when a side contains such talent as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani.
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Chelsea will look to make another appearance in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a win (or scoreless draw), and Blues boss Jose Mourinho hopes that this time around the match against Paris will feature a bit more kick of the football and a bit less kicking of Eden Hazard and the other Chelsea players.
Mourinho says he was surprised how often PSG fouled Eden Hazard in the first leg because they are a team with fantastic players. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 10, 2015
Despite the very physical nature of that first leg against le Parisiens, Chelsea FC came away with that vital draw and away goal and a better result than our last time in Paris. Some may say this is just Jose Mourinho playing mind games, hoping the officials are listening and allow Eden Hazard a little more freedom of movement by punishing the relentless kicking he gets from opposing players. If that’s the case, and Mourinho’s statements have their desired effect, Eden Hazard could have a large impact on this match.
Former Chelsea player David Luiz was played in midfield for the first leg, but reports have the Brazilian moving back to center defense for the 2nd leg tie in SW6, and as much as I like David Luiz as a person and footballer, I hope he has a horrible game and Chelsea score 4 against that PSG defense, for obvious reasons.
The Blues go into the 2nd leg with PSG healthy, and with a full squad following a weekends rest. Chelsea were knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford last month, and so enjoyed some relaxation as other teams in England competed in that tournament. PSG, meanwhile, defeated Lens 4-1 at the weekend to stay 1 point behind Lyon in the Ligue1 title race.
Chelsea FC Team News
Nothing new has come from the Chelsea camp, other than the previously mentioned comments regarding the unfair amount of kicking Eden Hazard and others have taken. Chelsea should have a full, rested squad for this match. Nemanja Matic, whose 2 match ban from the FA wouldn’t apply to this competition anyway, will almost certainly return to central midfield after he had rejoined training following a knock sustained celebrating the Capital One Cup victory.
Predicted Chelsea FC Starting XI
————————–Courtois—————————
—Ivanovic———–Terry——-Zouma———Azpilicueta
—————Fabregas————-Matic————–
—-Cuadrado————-Oscar———-Hazard——-
—————————Costa————————
We could see Zouma in midfield again, in the formation used against Spurs at Wembley, which we all know resulted in some silverware. Zouma has received some excellent praise from Jose Mourinho this season, comparing him to Marcel Desailly, another Chelsea legend.
Predicted Result
Chelsea FC 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain
The Blues have too much for PSG to handle, and the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge should lead Chelsea FC on to the next round of Europe’s top club competition.
UTC!