Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid Preview

Champions League returns this week with Spanish giants Real Madrid travelling to Paris to face French giants Paris-Saint Germain in the first round of their knockout fixture.

The hosts are looking to win their first UCL trophy and can take a step closer to their goals if they beat Real Madrid on Tuesday.

They come into this tie on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Rennes in the league. That win helped them open up a 13-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table and will allow them to focus all of their resources on this tournament.

Although Mauricio Pochettino’s men have shown signs of inconsistency this season, they are still one of the best sides currently in Europe. They have won four of their last five games and have been especially consistent at home. Since losing at home to Manchester City in the UCL semi-final in April last year, Pochettino’s side have lost just one competitive home match (W16, D1) – and that was via a penalty shootout.

Given their formidable home record, the Parisians will fancy their chances of getting a good result against one of Europe’s most formidable opponents.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid come into this tie on the back of a disappointing La Liga outing over the weekend. The record UCL holders were held to a goalless draw with Villareal on Saturday, reducing their lead at the top of the La Liga table to four points

They will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Paris. But Los Blancos have won just one of their last four competitive outings ahead of this meeting. This is in sharp contrast to their form earlier in the season when they finished the UCL group stage with four consecutive victories while conceding just once.

Given that they have lost just one of their last 11 away matches at this stage (W8, D2), they will be confident of getting a good result against PSG.