Laurent Blanc has warned his Paris Saint-Germain players to avoid being caught up in any controversy when facing off against Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
The Spain international, who is expected to start Wednesday's Champions League showdown at Stamford Bridge despite a minor tendon injury, has gained a reputation for agitating opponents.
Blanc is aware of Costa's other qualities on the field of play, though, and acknowledges that his side will have to be at full strength if they are to pick up a positive result in West London.
"There are two facets to Diego Costa: the player and the man," the Frenchman is quoted as saying by ESPN. "The player I like very much - a centre-forward who can score a lot of goals, has good movement, who works hard for the team. I'm a big fan of the player.
"We also know the [other] man - a man who likes contact, duels, challenges, even provocation at times. That's part of his game. We saw that last year. He's a player used to playing like that. He doesn't just do that against PSG. I'll tell my players not to respond to that.
"We have to keep cool in the face of provocation, even if they are Brazilians. We'll need all our strengths at our disposal tomorrow in a tight game. We need to stay with 11 on the field to enjoy a good game, so we can't respond to any provocation -- be it from Diego Costa or anyone else. We're away from home, at Stamford Bridge, and were made to pay with that a bit last year. So we have to stay calm."
PSG lead 2-1 from last month's first-leg clash, courtesy of goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani in either half.
Daniel Lewis
