The last-16 of the Champions League gets going tonight when Paris Saint-Germain host Real Madrid and Manchester City head to Sporting Lisbon.
The Champions League enters its knockout phase this week and there are some extremely intriguing ties set to get underway.
Paris Saint-Germain welcome Real Madrid to the Parc des Princes at 20:00 on Tuesday in arguably the tie of the round, while Manchester City will attempt to pick up a positive result in the first leg of their last-16 clash with Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
Hosts Boosted by Neymar Availability
PSG could have their strongest attacking line back together for the visit of Real after Neymar returned to training following an ankle injury.
The Brazil ace hasn’t featured since November but head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed he is in contention.
Pochettino already has Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to call on but he’s likely to need his strongest XI, which includes Neymar, to see off La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Former Real defender Sergio Ramos is set to be PSG’s only absentee as he continues to struggle with a calf injury.
The French outfit are yet to lift the Champions League but they were runners-up in 2019-20 and they reached the semi-finals last season.
Pochettino’s side sit 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, therefore, they can afford to put their full focus on this competition as they look to finally deliver.
They can be backed at 1/1 to come out on top in the first leg against 53/20 Real, while the draw is 13/5.
Real also top their domestic league but they only hold a four-point advantage after being held to a goalless draw by Villarreal on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti could be without top scorer Karim Benzema, who has netted 24 times across all competitions, for the crunch clash in his homeland.
The France international has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw with Elche last month.
Left-back Ferland Mendy, however, is expected to come back into contention after sustaining the same injury that draw with Elche.
Los Blancos have struggled for goals without Benzema to lead the line, scoring just once in three games.
History does tend to favour both teams to score, which is available at 4/7, after landing in three of the last four meetings.
However, Real have failed to net in two of their last three visits to PSG and, if Benzema fails to prove his fitness, it might be worth exploring a PSG win to zero at 10/3.
City Face Sporting Test
Manchester City fell at the final hurdle last season, losing the Champions League final against Chelsea, in their pursuit of a maiden crown.
The Premier League leaders are the 5/2 favourites to win the competition but they must remain focused to overcome a tough Sporting Lisbon outfit.
Sporting are 27/4 to pick up the victory on Tuesday with City priced at 10/27 and the draw 19/5.
The Portuguese outfit are making their first appearance in the knockout phase since 2008-09 after finishing second to Ajax in Group C.
They have won 12 of their last 13 games at home across all competitions, including victories over Besiktas and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
City are unbeaten in 12 across all competitions but they did lose two of their three away fixtures in the group stage, going down at PSG and RB Leipzig.
Gabriel Jesus remains sidelined after sustaining a knock on international duty last month, while Jack Grealish is also set to miss out due to a shin problem.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
