Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich clash on Tuesday for what promises to be an epic Champions League showdown.
Having narrowly finished second in their group behind Benfica due to goals scored away from home, PSG are tasked with hosting a Bayern side who came out on top after fending off Inter Milan and Barcelona. The French champions play host to the round-of-16 first leg in Paris and are hoping to have their spectacular attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to call upon.
Messi and Mbappe both missed Saturday's shock 3-1 defeat to Monaco, after which Neymar allegedly had a bust-up with PSG sporting advisor Luis Campos. But now the duo are back in training, representing a major boost for boss Christophe Galtier.
As for Bayern, manager Julian Nagelsmann has a relatively settled team, with defender Joao Cancelo in line to make his first Champions League appearance for the Bavarians since joining on loan from Manchester City in January. The same goes for goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who was parachuted in from Borussia Monchengladbach to replace the injured Manuel Neuer.
Club captain Neuer is currently at the centre of controversy in Munich, having slammed the club's decision to sack long-time goalkeeping coach and close friend Toni Tapalovic after reportedly identifying him as the source of dressing room leaks. On the pitch, though, it's been steady for Bayern, winning all three of their games in February and like PSG are top of their domestic league.
The German giants are also no strangers to this fixture, as Tuesday's match is a repeat of the 2020 final and a last-eight meeting in 2021. Bayern were crowned kings of Europe for the sixth time after a Champions League campaign which was marred by the effects of Covid-19, before PSG got a smidge of revenge a year later - only to lose in the semi-finals against eventual runners-up Man City.
Have your say! Who'll go through - PSG or Bayern Munich? Join the debate in the comments section.
Galtier admitted after losing to Monaco that he was "worried" about facing Bayern, but said on Monday during his pre-match press conference: "It's 50-50. Of course if you analyse the results and statistics, you might think that. But it's a Champions League game, my players are used to these fixtures."
Meanwhile, Nagelsmann noted: "There's a lot of pressure on both teams. PSG are better with Messi and Mbappe than without them. But they also have good replacements. They have a deep squad. I’ll prepare the team as if they were playing."
When is the match?
Paris Saint-Germain will welcome Bayern Munich to the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, February 14.
Kick-off is at 8pm GMT (9pm local time).
How can I watch it?
For UK viewers, the match will be televised live by BT Sport.
Coverage starts on BT Sport 2 at 7:15pm GMT.
Match odds
Here are the latest odds* from Betfred:
PSG - 7/4
Draw - 13/5
Bayern - 7/5
*odds subject to change
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