Paris Saint-Germain will be looking up to its constellation of star permofers, but particularly at Lionel Mesi, as the French giant resumes its bid for a first Champions League crown Tuesday when it meets record European winner Real Madrid.
PSG will host the intriguing first leg which kicks off the last 16 at the same time as Sporting Lisbon welcome Manchester City. Red Bull Salzburg then host Bayern Munich on Wednesday alongside a meeting of former winners between Inter Milan and Liverpool.
But PSG versus record 13-time champion Real is arguably the tie of the round with the beaten finalist in 2020 hoping to take the next step toward justifying the massive funds spent on its squad by Qatari investors in search of the greatest prize of all.
Former Real defender Sergio Ramos was one of several stars recruited on a free transfer last year but injury has limited his contribution this season.
Veteran Lionel Messi, formerly of Barcelona, will line up for PSG against his old rival but it is the younger Kylian Mbappe who could grab more headlines with the France World Cup winner continually linked with a move to Real.
Mbappe grabbed the injury-time winner over Rennes on Friday which kept PSG massively clear at the top of Ligue 1 to effectively leave the Champions League as its main target for the rest of the term.
"We've scored a lot of goals in the final minutes and that shows that one of this team's strengths is that we always fight to the end," said defender Achraf Hakimi, formerly of Real.
"It's very positive for the team because it shows we have a lot of character and a special talent to win."
Real also tops the Primera Division but by only four points after a weekend goalless draw against Villarreal.
"Now we're heading into what is the most beautiful time in football," said midfielder Casemiro. "We have a coaching staff who are working with us brilliantly and guide us always. We want to win everything we can."
PSG has struggled all season against teams that play quickly on the counterattack and Madrid is arguably the best around at swift transition play.
However, those attacks rely heavily on star forward Karim Benzema's movement, touch and awareness. He is in the Madrid squad but doubtful to play as he works his way back from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since last month.
Madrid hasn’t reached the final since completing a straight hat trick of European Cups in 2018.
Now Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti travels to face the side he once coached with only one win in four matches in all competitions. Without Benzema, it will be more difficult and a backup option is resorting to perennially out-of-favor Gareth Bale.
Once the world’s most expensive player, the forward only made his first appearance since August when starting in the 0-0 draw at Villarreal on Saturday.
A welcome draw – on paper, at least – and a fully fit and in-form squad, Manchester City is in great shape at the start of the knockout stage as the English club goes in search of that elusive Champions League title.
City's only loss in all competitions since Oct. 30 – a run of 20 games – was 2-1 at Leipzig in the final match in the Champions League group stages, which meant little since Pep Guardiola's team was already assured of advancing.
Indeed, more significant than the loss was the red card shown to Kyle Walker that will deprive Guardiola of his first-choice right back for both legs against Sporting and the first leg of the quarterfinals should City progress.
Joao Cancelo, rested like Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte in the Premier League at the weekend, will fill in at right back with Oleksandr Zinchenko set to cover on the left.
City, the beaten finalist last season, is a heavy favorite against a Portuguese opponent which is making only its second appearance in the knockout stages, and first since 2008-09. On that occasion, Sporting was humiliated 12-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.
Sporting was in the competition’s group stage this season for the first time since 2017-18 and finished ahead of Borussia Dortmund to advance.
The Portuguese champion relinquished a two-goal lead in a heated 2-2 draw at domestic league leader Porto on Friday, staying six points off the top.
