Champions League [Preview]: Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain

Real Madrid host Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s much-anticipated Champions League round of 16 showdown at the Bernabeu. The European champions have the opportunity to win the elite competition for three successive occasions, but they face a stiff challenge against Unai Emery’s side, who are bossing the proceedings in the French Ligue 1.

League performance:

Real Madrid have been largely inconsistent over the course of the current campaign, and they are presently 17 points adrift of league leaders Barcelona with a game in hand. On the contrary, Les Parisiens are comfortable placed at the top of their standings with a 12-point lead over AS Monaco, and they are looking likelier to retain the French crown, which they lost to the Principality outfit last term.

Players to watch for:

Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid: The Portugal international has built up form ahead of the European clash with seven goals in his previous five appearances (ESPN). Despite his trailing age, Ronaldo remains a menace for the opposition defence, and his movement could be key against a Les Parisiens defence, which has not really been tested since the Bayern Munich loss in December. The 33-year-old has not scored in his two previous meetings versus the Capital outfit.

Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain: Likewise Ronaldo, Neymar remains the talisman of the Les Parisiens attack and his link-up play with Edinson Cavani could be influential towards bagging an away goal for the visitors. Neymar has netted just thrice against Los Blancos in eight outings, but he has been more beneficial with his contribution for his teammates with five assists in this period( transfermarkt). Neymar’s attempt versus Toulouse last weekend was chalked off as an own-goal, but he has still notched seven goals in his last five matches.

Prediction:

Paris Saint-Germain suffered a damaging 6-1 defeat to Barcelona during their previous trip to Spain. However, with Neymar on their side, the game should involve exchanges in both ends, and we are anticipating a high-scoring draw.

Real Madrid 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain

Image – Getty

Author – The Football Freak