Having been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons, the pressure is on Laurent Blanc to at least guide Paris St. Germain to the last four this time around.
After all, what was an already talented squad was bolstered in the summer by the arrival of five new players, the headline of which was Ā£45m signing Angel di Maria from Manchester United.
On the pitch, Di Mariaās new club have been in imperious form so far this season.
They are yet to taste defeat, winning 11 and drawing the other two of their 13 matches in all competitions.
Their home form stretching back to last season is also equally as positive, with eight wins and a draw coming from their last nine outings in front of their own supporters. During that time, Paris St. Germain have found the net on 29 occasions.
Yet, while it is a fairly safe assumption to make that the Ligue 1 title will be won again, it is the Champions League that truly captures the imagination of the clubās owners.
Paris St. Germain last reached the semi-finals in 1995 and matching that is what the Qatar Investment Authority want to see.
Real Madrid has played two games so far and won both against Malmo and Shakhtar Dontesk scoring 6 goals and conceding none while PSG also faced same opponents and won both matches scoring 5 and conceding none.
The 4-0 victory over Shakhtar saw a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently became the clubās leading all-time goalscorer, surpassing Raul in the process.
Ronaldoās achievement of scoring 324 goals is all the more remarkable when you consider that he took around 400 games less than the former captain to reach that tally.
For even more positivity ahead of the trip to Paris, Madrid have not lost an away group fixture since the 2012-13 campaign, which dates back eight matches.
Match facts
- This is the fifth meeting between Paris SG and Real Madrid in European competition. The Parisian club holds the upper hand with two wins, one draw and one defeat. Meanwhile, Real have never beaten PSG at the Parc des Princes (D1 L1).
- Their previous encounters were in the knockout stages with PSG eliminating Real Madrid both times: in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup (5-4 on aggregate) and the 1993/94 Cup Winnersā Cup (2-1 on aggregate).
- Paris St. Germain have scored in each of their previous four games against Real Madrid.
- Paris St. Germain have only lost one of their last 35 home games in European competition (W23 D11), it was against Barcelona in last seasonās Champions League quarter-finals (1-3).
- Paris St. Germain have scored in each of their last 18 home games in the Champions League. The last time they failed to find the net at the Parc des Princes was in September 2004 against Chelsea (0-3).
- Paris St. Germain have been knocked out in the quarter finals in each of the last three seasons. Their best performance to date is a semi-final in 1994/95 when they were eliminated by AC Milan.
- Real Madrid are playing in the Champions League for the 19th consecutive season, the longest current run. They have always made it out of the group stages and have won the European Cup/Champions League 10 times, a record.
- Real Madrid have made it at least to the semi-finals in each of the last five Champions League campaigns.
Head to head
In last two matches they played together, Real Madrid won both.
Last time they played against each other was on January 2nd 2014 when Real Madrid won 1-0.
Team news
Rafa BenĆtez is also hoping for Luka Modric and Karim Benzema to return against PSG. Both players missed the weekend victory over Levante, Modric with a muscular strain and Benzema a leg injury, but they remain hopeful of recovering in time.
Sergio Ramos could return for Real Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night if he receives a painkilling injection.
However, centre-back Pepe, as well as Dani Carvajal and James Rodriguez are all injury absentees.
PSG will be missing David Luiz while they rested Ćngel Di MarĆa and left Thiago Motta on the bench this weekend in their 2-0 win over Bastia in order to keep them fit for Wednesday. Also, Marco Verratti is concerned following his recovery from a calf injury.
Probable Line-ups
PSG : Sirigu; Maxwell, Silva, Marquinhos, Aurier; Motta, Pastore, Verratti; Lucas, Cavani, Ibrahimovic
Real Madrid: Navas; Marcelo, Ramos, Varane, Danilo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Isco, Bale, Ronaldo Read
From : SS.com
