Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Real Madrid meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday 15 February.
This is perhaps the tie of the round, with two bona fide heavyweights set to duke it out for a place in the quarter-finals. Madrid had the more assertive group stage and – with 13 titles to their name and European Cup doyen Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout – have no shortage of pedigree to call upon. Paris, though, promise to be quite the challenge.
Possible line-ups
Paris: Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes; Danilo, Paredes, Verratti; Di María, Messi, Mbappé
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić, Asensio, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior
What the coaches say
Mauricio Pochettino, Paris coach: “There is no more pressure on one side than the other. I respect Real Madrid; they are one of the biggest clubs in the world, who have won everything. However, in my opinion, there is no favourite. It could be a final given the quality of the players.”
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: “The only pressure we have is facing a great team like Paris; it’s more motivation than pressure. It’s not a difficult game to prepare for as all the players are very motivated. It has to be a complete game from us. Both teams will try to produce when in possession and hit each other on counters. Our football is very alike.”
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