Paris Saint-Germain welcome Real Madrid to the French capital aiming to overturn a sizeable two-goal deficit from the first leg in Spain, largely due to a standout showing from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Zinedine Zidane's men come into the game after a change in fortunes in 2018 and will be looking at the Champions League as the perfect way of correcting some rather abject performances domestically during 2017.
Paris Saint-Germain
© OffsideThe Parisians have been scoring goals for fun as they continue their dismantling of Ligue 1, but it is really in the Champions League where Unai Emery's charges are likely to be judged.
The loss to the 12-time winners in the Spanish capital has left PSG requiring something special on home soil, and the two-goal deficit will likely lead onlookers to again question when exactly the investment from Qatar Sports Investments will pay dividends on the continental stage.
The first leg saw Paris compete for much of the contest, but they were eventually brushed aside by Ronaldo's brilliance and fell short in part due to what Dani Alves labelled a "lack of experience" after the contest.
As well as the two-goal deficit, Paris fans have cause for concern too given Emery's record against Los Blancos. Emery's 21st game as a coach facing Real came courtesy of the first-leg loss and that fixture represented his 15th defeat against Madrid.
To compound the worrying statistics, Paris are now also without key man Neymar following his recent injury troubles, as the Brazilian star finds himself back in his homeland having treatment which is predicted to leave the forward out for three months.
Added to the absence of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe was not risked domestically over the weekend following ankle trouble, and it still remains to be seen as to whether the youngster will make Tuesday's encounter.
If there is one avenue to pin the Parisians' faint hopes on it is the club's consistency during their Ligue 1 season. Emery's men have lost just twice all campaign, winning 24 and drawing the other two. The club has scored a monumental 86 goals in the league and conceded just 19.
PSG have managed to win all of their last six league fixtures, scoring 15 and conceding only three, but facing Real on the biggest of stages is of course a different prospect entirely.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWW
Real Madrid
© OffsideThis season has proven to be a testing one for last year's Champions League and La Liga holders, although Zidane's charges have made some significant improvements since the turn of the year.
Over the winter period, Real managed to win just four of 10 matches either side of Christmas in a troubling run of form that left Los Blancos lagging far behind an unbeaten Barcelona at the top of the La Liga standings.
It is in Europe, however, where Zidane's men have been able to offer glimmers of the same brilliance that saw them to that triumphant victory over Juventus at Cardiff in June 2017.
The Spanish giants have scored in each of their last 10 European away games and now hold a commanding 3-1 lead over PSG from the first leg, when an inspired Ronaldo bagged a brace at the Santiago Bernabeu in order to lead his side into a dominant position after initially going a goal down.
Much of Real's turnaround in 2018 has come courtesy of the Portuguese forward too, given that Ronaldo has now notched 14 goals in his last eight appearances prior to travelling to Paris on Monday morning.
The club's flight to the French capital also provided fans with a glimpse of both Luka Modric and Toni Kroos potentially returning to action on Tuesday evening, after both have missed out through injury recently.
The midfield pair sat out of Real's frustrating 1-0 loss to Espanyol during the week, but have been included in the club's squad for the last-16 clash despite not training as late as Friday.
Zidane and his side will be confident of at least bagging one goal on the road at the Parc des Princes, which would leave the Parisians needing to move mountains to stand a chance of making it into the quarter-finals.
Recent form: WWWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWLW
Team News
© SilverHubAs has been well documented, Neymar is absent through injury trouble, while Mbappe is hoping to earn a start despite being doubtful over the weekend.
Alphonse Areola and Marquinhos are also striving to be fit to face Real, although Marco Verratti, Edinson Cavani and Alves were all rested at the weekend and will start against Madrid.
For the visitors, Kroos and Modric will be hoping to start despite some recent fitness issues and will at least make some sort of impact on Tuesday night.
Daniel Carvajal should return after missing the first leg through suspension, while Marcelo recently came off the bench to feature in La Liga at the weekend after facing a spell on the sidelines.
Zidane could lead with a front three of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, meaning that Isco and Marco Asensio might have to settle for a place on the bench.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Areola; Alves, Silva, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Rabiot, Motta, Verratti; Di Maria, Cavani, Mbappe
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema
Head To Head
Across the last six fixtures between the sides, PSG were only able to beat Madrid in the International Champions Cup in the summer courtesy of a 3-1 win. Elsewhere in those six games, Madrid won four and drew the other.
These clubs last met in the Champions league during the 2015-16 season, when both sides featured in Group A. PSG grabbed a point at home that term, while the reverse fixture saw Madrid run out 1-0 winners in Spain.
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Real Madrid
Madrid find themselves in a commanding position going into the away leg and they will be confident of getting the job done at the Parc des Princes, especially given the hot streak that Ronaldo currently finds himself in.
PSG will be hoping for the same sort of miracle that did for them against Barcelona last year, and the hosts do possess some of the mercurial quality required to cause issues for Madrid.
Having said that, a two-goal advantage will give Zidane's side plenty to be optimistic about and they will fancy themselves to bag an away goal too, making PSG's task that much more difficult on Tuesday night.
