French Fancy

Paris St Germain are anything but a one-man team so while the absence of Neymar is keenly felt, they could still turn this tie around and qualify for the quarter-finals at best odds of 11/4 with Ladbrokes.

Firstly consider that history suggests we already have the odds in our favour. 33% of sides who have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie 3-1 have still progressed, and most of them won’t have been as good as this lot.

Cavani has scored 32 goals in 37 appearances this season while Neymar’s replacement, Di Maria, is considered by some to have been PSG’s best player in 2018 and has netted 17 times despite restricted playing time earlier in the campaign. Mbappe has also contributed 16 goals so firepower is not a problem.

The French hosts are formidable on their own patch with 2 recent home performances in this competition standing out. The 4-0 victory over Barcelona last February and the 3-0 triumph over Bayern in September show what they can do against Europe’s best.

Real needed 2 late goals to win the first leg at the Bernabeu and their La Liga record suggests this is a great side past its peak. PSG could signal a changing of the guard on Tuesday night.