The French and German champions collide in the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League in a repeat of the 2020 UCL final.
Bayern Munich are in search of their seventh Champions League trophy while PSG will be hoping for a maiden Champions League win in 2023.
Christophe Galtier’s team traveled to the principality to play Monaco on Saturday hoping to get back to winning ways after being eliminated from the Coupe de France by Marseille. However, PSG returned to the capital empty-handed after a humiliating 3-1 loss with all four goals coming in the first half.
The Parisians still lead the Ligue 1 by a healthy five points, but losing two straight games is not the best way to get ready for a matchup with Bayern Munich, the team they fell to in the 2020–21 Champions League final.
PSG expected to face a little less difficult opponent in the round of 16, but despite being tied with Benfica on 14 points, they were forced to settle for second place in the group after falling short of the Portuguese powerhouses on away goals scored.
The French champions will need to take advantage of home their home form if they hope to avoid a second consecutive last-16 exit (they were defeated by eventual winners Real Madrid at this stage last season). Having won 12 and drawn three of their 15 home games this season, they will undoubtedly be confident that they can take a lead to Germany.
When Bayern returned from the winter break with three straight 1-1 draws, it was by their lofty standards something of a mini-crisis, but in recent weeks, normalcy has been restored in Bavaria.
Mainz and Wolfsburg were defeated in the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga, respectively, as they registered four goals in each of those victories. Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman, and Serge Gnabry scored in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bochum at the weekend to help Julian Nagelsmann’s free-scoring team warm up for their midweek Champions League match.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos; Mendes; Ruiz, Pereira, Verratti; Soler; Messi, Neymar
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup: Sommer; Cancelo, De Ligt, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Coman; Choupo-Moting
