The knockout rounds of the Champions League begin on Tuesday with a pair of fixtures. Chelsea would have normally been a big favorite to get into at least the last eight of this competition. However, with as badly as the Blues have played this season, anything could happen in an opening round duel against Paris Saint-Germain.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Paris Saint-Germain -156
Chelsea +515
Draw +270
Over/Under 2 (over -140)
ODDS ANALYSIS
PSG has really played well here at the Parc des Princes this year, and that's why it's a huge favorite in this match at -156. You'll probably find -1 on the Asian Handicap by the time this match kicks off.
Chelsea, a team which is a dog to advance into the quarterfinals, is over 5 to 1 on the moneyline. If the Blues do happen to pull off this massive upset, something which feels like is beyond them, they should have an easy road into the next round.
First legs of these home-and-home series tend to end up being tight to the vest and low-scoring, and that's why the total is set relatively low at 2 and -140 vig on the over.
KEY INJURIES
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was dealing with a minor knock coming into the weekend, but he's being prepped for this match, the biggest of the year for PSG. The Parisians didn't use Ibrahimovic, Thiago Motta or Thiago Silva against Lille over the weekend, but all three of those men should be back in the fold against Chelsea.
Chelsea's only real concern right now is with its captain. John Terry went off against Newcastle over the weekend, and though he's said all the right things in terms of being ready for the trip to Paris, this is a situation worth watching as the week goes on.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's not a success, but it's not a failure yet. Success is when we go on and get to the finals of both cups. That would be a huge success and it's not easy." – Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink on what would make the Blues' season a success the rest of the way
RECENT FORM
PSG, which played incredibly well in the group stage of the Champions League, has been in top form of late. Forget about the draw at home against Lille. That was a poor result for sure, but it wasn't a disaster for a team which has run away and hid from the rest of Ligue 1. That snapped a string of 15 straight wins across all competitions for the Parisians.
Chelsea might've ultimately turned a bit of a corner last week when it blew out Newcastle 5-1. That came on the heels of stealing a point against Manchester United at home the week before.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Still, every time Chelsea takes a step forward, it seems to take a step or two backwards as well. The Blues don't have anything really left to play for at this point but this competition, but we aren't sure that they're capable of getting anything out of this.
The PSG defense is awesome led by Kevin Trapp in the pipes, and the offense is a lot better than you might expect with Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani combining to score 32 goals this year.
This is a huge deal for PSG. The Parisians haven't made it into the semifinals of the Champions League since this competition was rebranded, and they've tried time and time again to make it a point to prove that French soccer is every bit as good as that of the rest of Europe.
The Parc des Princes will be on fire on Tuesday, and we can't see the hosts not getting a huge victory over a Chelsea team which tends to wilt at the first sign of problems.
PSG 2, Chelsea 0
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