Chelsea have won each of their last three Champions League round of 16 ties, having lost four on the spin beforehand, and it'll be pretty memorable if they were to win this one. That's because, last Wednesday, the Blues were ultimately battered 5-2 at the Parc des Princes by Paris Saint-Germain.
For 74 minutes, it was an even affair, with both Malo Gusto and then Enzo Fernández equalising in the French capital. However, les Rouge-et-Bleu scored thrice in the final 15 minutes, including two rockets from substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, putting the holders in the box seat to progress.
Thus, Liam Rosenior's side must demolish PSG by three clear goals to stand any chance of a quarter-final place, as Enzo Maresca's team did 247 days ago in the Club World Cup Final in East Rutherford. If Stamford Bridge is to witness a miracle on Tuesday night, here's three players Rosenior must start.
3 non-negotiable starters for Chelsea against PSG
Enzo Fernández
On Monday, Chelsea supporters were once again saddened to learn that Reece James could well miss the rest of the season due to a serious hamstring injury. Just when the 26 year old was starting to enjoy a run of games, he suffers yet another injury set back. In his absence, Enzo Fernández is expected to be donning the armband, and the Argentine will be key to their hopes of a comeback.
Last mid-week's goal in Paris took the midfielder's tally to 12 for the season, including a last-gasp equaliser at the Etihad in January, as well as an injury time winner against West Ham a few weeks later. Fernández has proved himself to be the man for the big occasions, capable of producing an iconic moment, so fans inside Stamford Bridge will be hoping to witness another.
Pedro Neto
Rosenior picked a strong side for Saturday's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle, but will surely make at least one alteration in attack. Pedro Neto sat out the last two Premier League matches due to suspension, hit with an extra one match ban by the FA after behaving in an "improper manner" and "refusing to leave the field immediately" following his red card at Arsenal.
Well, Neto could perhaps have been suspended for this tie, after pushing over a PSG ballboy towards the end of the first leg. Nevertheless, UEFA decided against this, rather warning the winger about his "unsporting conduct". This could be a major boost for Rosenior, likely to start Neto on the left-flank.
Given that Estêvão Willian and Jamie Gittens are injured, Alejandro Garnacho got the nod at the weekend, but he continues to be underwhelming and frustrating, with supporters wondering why £40 million was splurged to sign him. Thus, Neto is a clear upgrade, having scored ten times so far this season, so a first-ever career Champions League goal would be timely.
João Pedro
Similarly, if Chelsea are going to oust the reigning European Champions, João Pedro is likely to play a starring role. The Brazilian was on target during the aforementioned Club World Cup Final against PSG, securing victory at MetLife Stadium after Cole Palmer had scored twice. With Palmer really not in form right now, Pedro is the Blues' most-likely source of goals on Tuesday night.
The 24 year old took his tally to 18 for the season with a recent hat-trick at Villa Park, 11 of which have come in 15 outings since mid-January. This includes scoring twice in Naples on the final night of the league phase, goals that secured Chelsea's top eight spot, albeit drawing PSG means this didn't help much. Nevertheless, all hope is not yet lost.
Chelsea have an abundance of attacking talent in their squad, and they'll need plenty of these stars to shine if they're to produce a remontada against PSG, with Pedro by far the most-plausible to do so.