By Jack Sice
After a 2-1 defeat in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge with the uphill task of beating the French Champions, PSG, who are running away with, an admittedly weak, Ligue 1.
PSG's domestic dominance this season can be put down to their brilliance and the malaise of their biggest rivals, notably Marseilles, who are stuck in mid table, alongside Lille - the Champions of four seasons ago.
There is no denying that PSG have one of the most powerful squads in European football. Their squad seems to strike an almost perfect balance between youth and experience, reflected by the two Italians, Verratti and Motta, in the middle of the park. Verratti, a tenacious terrier of a midfielder who is also elegant on the ball, juxtaposed against Motta, who is a born winner, having won two Champions Leagues, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A. Verratti is admittedly a doubt, and will be a huge blow for the Parisians, as he has been instrumental in the last two fixtures between these teams. Matuidi worryingly is also a doubt, leaving Blanc with a weakened midfield. The PSG back four is stable, likely unchanged, containing Chelsea cult hero David Luiz and Thiago Silva, both who scored in the corresponding fixture last season at Stamford Bridge. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will spearhead the attack, backed up by a combination of Lucas and Di Maria, the former who lit up the opening stages of the first leg. 
Chelsea, on the other hand, haven't been able to hit the dizzy heights of last season, and are only now showing signs of recovery after an abysmal start to the Premier League campaign, with 9 defeats in 16. Too little too late perhaps domestically, but their cup dreams are still alive on both fronts. A 1-0 victory will send The Blues through to the next round, but without a home clean sheet in 8, this outcome looks like it will be elusive. The 1-1 stalemate at home to Stoke this season was an all too timely reminder of their season: not good enough.
Chelsea, like PSG, will have significant absentees. John Terry and Kurt Zouma are both ruled out, as is Pedro, who got injured in the win at Southampton. Diego Costa didn't play on Saturday because of a minor knock, but he is expected to start and lead the Chelsea attack. The key difference between the two sides is the squad depth. PSG, though weakened, will still be able to field a strong starting eleven and bench, whereas Chelsea's bench will likely include fringe players such as Loftus Cheek and Matt Miazga.
How will the makeshift Chelsea back four cope with the presence of Ibrahimovic, who impressed with his hold up play in the first leg? Ivanovic and Cahill are both more than competent, but without Terry the defence will lack that extra bit of cohesion. Costa versus Luiz & Silva will be a tasty battle, likely to be full of flash points, but the victor is likely to be the team that can keep their cool when Costa's inevitable antics increase the temperature at Stamford Bridge. 
Stamford Bridge has seen it's fair share of memorable European nights over the last few years - Barcelona in 05, Napoli & Barcelona in that run up to Munich in 2012, and of course, the 2014 victory over the old foe PSG. It is this type of fixture that Chelsea have traditionally stepped up for, and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues tonight.
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