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This week’s four return matches in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League look set to produce plenty of excitement, with a solitary goal proving the difference at the halfway stage in three of the ties. Real Madrid seem to have the most straightforward task, one that involves defending a 2-0 aggregate lead at home to Roma, while Wolfsburg will also have one eye on the last eight after winning by the odd goal in five on their visit to Gent. With narrow first-leg deficits to overturn, this week’s other two home sides, Zenit St Petersburg and Chelsea, both have a little more to do.
The fixture (aggregate scores in brackets)
Tuesday 8 March
Wolfsburg-Gent (3-2)
Real Madrid-AS Roma (2-0)
Tuesday 8 March
Wolfsburg-Gent (3-2)
Real Madrid-AS Roma (2-0)
Match of the day Chelsea-Paris Saint Germain, Stamford Bridge, London, 20:45 (CET)
Wednesday’s meeting at Stamford Bridge has all the makings of a classic. This is the third season in a row that the two sides have faced off in the knockout phase, with the two previous ties both being decided on the away-goals rule after pulsating return legs in London on both occasions. In 2014 the Blues went through after clawing back a 3-1 first-leg deficit, while the Parisians exacted revenge last year, courtesy of a thrilling 2-2 draw after extra time.
Along with the FA Cup, the Champions League is Chelsea’s only hope of silverware in what has been a disappointing season. The defending English champions currently lie a lowly tenth in the Premier League, though Guus Hiddink’s men have belatedly found some form of late, losing just once in the last three months, a defeat that came in February’s first leg in Paris.
PSG have had no such problems on the domestic front. Some 23 points ahead of the pack in France, they are cruising towards another league title and have their sights firmly set on European glory. “As far as we’re concerned, the Chelsea match is the most important game of the season,” commented PSG midfielder Lucas Moura.
In the spotlightA world and European champion with France, Zinedine Zidane won virtually everything there was to win in his playing days. However, the celebrated Frenchman will be experiencing something new when the referee blows his whistle at the start of Tuesday’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu: his first home Champions League match since taking over from Rafael Benitez in the Real Madrid hotseat in January.
Player to watch Returning to London is always an emotional experience for PSG’s Brazilian central defender David Luiz, who spent three years with Chelsea and won the Champions League with them before moving to the French capital in 2014 for a world-record fee for a defender. The 28-year-old Luiz scored a vital late equaliser against his old club in the second leg of last year’s Round-of-16 tie between the two sides and will no doubt be hoping to play just as decisive a role against his former team-mates this time around.
Did you know?Opponents Gent and Wolfsburg both made history in reaching the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition, with neither side having reached the knockout phase before. The Germans have the edge going into Tuesday’s second leg, having won the first leg 3-2, though they may yet have cause to regret letting slip a 3-0 lead in Belgium.
The stat
91 - That was how many minutes were on the clock at Lisbon’s Estadio do Sport when Jonas Goncalves nodded in Nicolas Gaitan’s free-kick to give the home side a 1-0 win over Zenit in the first leg. “It’s going to give us a lead to defend,” said a delighted Benfica coach, Rui Vitoria, afterwards. “1-0 is always a good result in the Champions League and I’m convinced we can score in St Petersburg too.” Having lost on both their previous visits to the Russian city, the Lisbon giants may well need the insurance of another goal.
91 - That was how many minutes were on the clock at Lisbon’s Estadio do Sport when Jonas Goncalves nodded in Nicolas Gaitan’s free-kick to give the home side a 1-0 win over Zenit in the first leg. “It’s going to give us a lead to defend,” said a delighted Benfica coach, Rui Vitoria, afterwards. “1-0 is always a good result in the Champions League and I’m convinced we can score in St Petersburg too.” Having lost on both their previous visits to the Russian city, the Lisbon giants may well need the insurance of another goal.
What they said “I hope to lift the trophy this season because we’re putting all we have into it. We’re taking each day as it comes though, match by match and competition by competition. We’re learning something every year, with every defeat we suffer. We couldn’t win the Champions League last season, but I’m confident that this will be our year at last. Most of the side have been playing together for three or four years now and the team spirit is getting better and better.” PSG defender David Luiz.