Paris Saint-Germain are aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit when they welcome Borussia Dortmund to Parc des Princes for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Neymar scored a potentially crucial away goal in last month's reverse fixture, but strikes either side from Erling Braut Haaland ensures that BVB have a slender advantage.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus across Europe, it was announced on Monday that this game will now be played behind closed doors.
Match preview
© Reuters
PSG boss Thomas Tuchel came in for a lot of criticism following his side's defeat at the Westfalenstadion after opting to use a three-man defence.
Whether it was down to the tactics or certain players having an off day, Tuchel's men once again failed to transfer their impressive domestic form onto the European stage.
The French champions have been eliminated at this stage of the competition in each of the last three seasons and how have a big task on their hands if they are to stop the rot.
Never before have PSG successfully overturned a first-leg deficit in a Champions League knockout match, going out to AC Milan in 1995, Barcelona in 2015 and Real Madrid in 2018.
Unsurprisingly, Tuchel's side have won all three domestic games since tasting defeat in Germany, scoring 13 goals across those Ligue 1 and Coupe de France matches.
A domestic treble remains a real possibility, but as ever it is the Champions League that will define whether this season is a success for Tuchel, whose job may depend on Wednesday's result.
© Reuters
Dortmund have also won every match since the sides last met, including a 2-1 victory at Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday to remain within four points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
In fact, BVB enter this match on a five match winning run in all competitions, keeping a clean sheet in three of those games.
The ability to keep out the opposition could prove the crucial factor in Wednesday's clash at Parc des Princes, with PSG boasting an away goal thanks to Neymar's tap-in three weeks ago.
Dortmund have progressed to the next stage of the Champions League on all four occasions in which they won the first leg of a knockout match. Only Juventus, who have done so 11 times out of 11, boast a better 100%-progression-rate.
However, the German side have lost each of their last five away Champions League knockout matches since a 4-2 win at Zenit St Petersburg in February 2014.
They have failed to get beyond the last-16 stage since 2017, meanwhile, when losing to surprise package Monaco in the quarters.
Both sides therefore have a point to prove in this finely-poised return fixture in the French capital, knowing that elimination will lead to some familiar questions being asked.
Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League form: WWWDWL
Paris Saint-Germain's form (all competitions): WDLWWW
Borussia Dortmund's Champions League form: WLWLWW
Borussia Dortmund's form (all competitions): LWWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
PSG's home league meeting with Strasbourg last Friday was postponed due to coronavirus fears, so they enter this match on the back of a full week's rest.
Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier were both yellow carded in the first leg and will miss this return fixture through suspension in a huge double blow for the hosts.
Thiago Silva and Colin Dagba are also fitness doubts, but Tuchel will give his skipper every chance of starting the match.
The decision to use a three-man defence at the Westfalenstadion backfired, so a more familiar 4-3-3 is expected to be used here, spearheaded by Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria.
As for Dortmund, they will definitely be without Marco Reus and Thomas Delaney because of injury.
Lucien Favre is likely to keep changes to a minimum given his side's impressive winning run, which could mean going with the same XI that started the win over Gladbach on Saturday.
Haaland fired a blank in that match, but he is one of only five players to have scored 10 or more goals in their debut European Cup campaign following his brace three weeks ago.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Kehrer, Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Gueye, Marquinhos, Paredes; Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Piszczek, Hummels, Zagadou; Hakimi, Can, Witsel, Guerreiro; Sancho, Haaland, Hazard
We say: PSG 1-1 Dortmund (2-3 on aggregate)
PSG have failed to beat Dortmund in their three previous competitive meetings. BVB have been in impressive form over the past month and, having done the hard work on home soil last month, we are backing them to see the job through in this behind-closed-doors match.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a win with a probability of 61.76%. A draw had a probability of 19.4% and a win for had a probability of 18.79%.
The most likely scoreline for a win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.21%) and 3-1 (7.28%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.55%), while for a win it was 1-2 (5.04%).
