In the final league phase standings, the tale of these Eurostar cities was London sixth and Paris 11th; hence the Blues hosting the decisive second leg at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.

Our half of the draw features all the Champions League winners from the past decade, including two-time winners Chelsea and defending champions PSG.

The Parisians have had the better of our eight previous UEFA clashes, winning three to the Blues’ two, with honours shared three times. Poignantly, though, the pair now meet as champions of Europe and the world respectively.

That’s because last summer in the USA, we defeated PSG 3-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup final, with Cole Palmer scoring two and assisting Joao Pedro for the other. That win also levelled out the results between the two teams on all fronts.

Last Friday, Luis Enrique’s side lost their first home league game of the season, conceding three goals in a defeat to Monaco.

A day later, Liam Rosenior’s much-changed Blues denied Wrexham their Hollywood ending with a 4-2 FA Cup fifth round victory in north Wales.

The two coaches have crossed swords three times before. They earned a win apiece during Rosenior's time in charge of Strasbourg and shared a dramatic 3-3 draw, the Alsatians scoring eight goals in the process.

Now, the Blues are targeting a seventh straight win on French soil.

Chelsea team news

Rosenior started Filip Jorgensen in goal for our victory at Aston Villa and Robert Sanchez in our FA Cup triumph over Wrexham on Saturday. Who starts between the posts in France is a decision the Blues' head coach will make ahead our clash in the French capital.

‘With this squad, every position is a difficult decision,’ Rosenior explained in his pre-match press conference. ‘That is how it has to be to be successful. We have a squad full of top, top players - not even the starting XI, making a decision of who is on the bench is difficult. That’s the job I’m here to do.

‘So we’ll make that decision on the goalkeeper position as we would in terms of the number nine, ten or seven. I’ve said before, the goalkeeper position is no different to an outfield position. I’ll pick what I think is the right choice for each game, and you’ll see what decision I make tomorrow when the team sheet comes out.’

Rosenior also explained that managing his players’ workloads across the season – and particularly during his tenure – has been done to ensure his squad is in good shape for 'crunch games' in the season run-in.

He said: ‘In my time I’ve tried to manage the minutes, the training load we do, the intensity we train with,’ said Rosenior.

‘A lot of staff have had an input to that and we’ve worked collaboratively in terms of that. The idea is that in these moments, the crunch games, we are as strong as possible.

‘If you look at our squad now, Levi [Colwill] is back in modified training, Jamie Gittens is back involved. We’re working really well in terms of our injury load and that has to continue.’

The history

Chelsea have reached the Round of 16 on 17 previous occasions. The first came in 2004 and saw Stuttgart – who we defeated in the 1998 European Cup Winners’ Cup final – edged out 1-0 on aggregate to set up a famous quarter-final victory over Arsenal.

Successive meetings with Barcelona followed; the Londoners’ brilliant 4-2 triumph at the Bridge ensured progress despite a 2-1 loss at the Nou Camp.

A year later in Catalonia, Frank Lampard scored a last-gasp penalty equaliser, but the die had been cast in London after Asier Del Horno was red-carded for a foul on Lionel Messi and the Blues were eliminated.

In 2008, the work was done in London, with a 3-0 defeat of Olympiacos after a 0-0 in Athens. The Blues eventually reached the final for the first time.

The following season, Didier Drogba’s early winner in London made the difference as we drew 2-2 with Juventus in Turin, eventually bowing out controversially against Barcelona.

Our own Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti could not replicate his domestic success in Europe in 2010, suffering a 3-1 aggregate loss to an Inter Milan side coached by former Blues head coach Jose Mourinho.

In 2011, we faced Copenhagen, the club of our celebrated overseas player from a century earlier, Nils Middelboe. That tie was settled in Denmark with a 2-0 win, paired with a stalemate at the Bridge.

Before winning the Champions League in 2012, Chelsea played out a Round of 16 nail-biter with Napoli. The Italians won 3-1 in Italy, but were resoundingly overturned 4-1 at a pulsating Stamford Bridge.

We were paired with Galatasaray in 2014 and Fernando Torres earned a draw in Istanbul before we sealed a 2-0 win in London.

The following two seasons brought Round of 16 clashes with tonight’s opponents. In 2015, a pair of draws – 1-1 in Paris, 2-2 in London – meant PSG progressed via the away goals rule.

A year later, when the pair met again, PSG inflicted twin 2-1 losses on caretaker boss Guus Hiddink’s side. It was Barcelona again in 2018, and a 1-1 draw the Bridge, thanks to a Willian strike, was not enough as we were dispatched at the Camp Nou.

In the Covid-19-hit 2019/20 season, battle-hardened Bayern were the Londoners’ Round of 16 opponents, the young Blues beaten 7-1 on aggregate after a long-delayed second leg.

Slightly older and far wiser the following year, under new coach Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea comfortably dealt with Atletico Madrid: 1-0 in Bucharest, 2-0 at the Bridge. We went on to beat Manchester City in the final.

The defence of our second Champions League title included a 4-1 aggregate Round of 16 victory over Lille in 2022, with Christian Pulisic on target in both legs. Most recently, in 2022/23, the Londoners’ 2-0 home win overcame a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

Know this...

Chelsea have won the Champions League twice (2012, 2021). Paris Saint-Germain once (2025)

This is the Blues’ 18th appearance in the Champions League Round of 16, the most by any English club. We have prevailed in our last three Round of 16 ties and in 13 of the last 16 European knockout rounds.

The 2025 Club World Cup final was the only ever major final played between clubs from England and France.

The only overseas clubs Chelsea have faced in competitive action more frequently than Paris Saint-Germain (nine) are Porto (10) and Barcelona (18).

Chelsea have won each of our past six UEFA matches against Ligue 1 teams. This is the French hosts’ 14th successive appearance in the Champions League round of 16.

Seven of the eight teams PSG faced in the league phase are now competing in the round of 16.

Last season, the Parisians eliminated three Premier League opponents on the way to winning the Champions League – Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal.