Chelsea have a lot of ground to make up when they welcome reigning Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain to London on Tuesday, March 17 for the second leg of their Round of 16 Champions League tie. The Ligue 1 giants dominated the first leg at home 5-2, and Chelsea will need at least three goals to attempt to stay alive in the competition.
Kickoff from Stamford Bridge is set for 4 p.m. ET and soccer fans can watch all Champions League games live on Paramount+. Chelsea are +110 favorites (wager $100 to win $110) on the money line in the latest Chelsea vs. PSG odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the visitors are +205 underdogs (wager $100 to win $205). A draw is +320 and the total is set at 3.5 (Over +105, Under -130). You can see the latest SportsLine Projection Model predictions for Chelsea vs. PSG and all UCL matches here, but you should see what SportsLine soccer expert Martin Green is betting before locking in your wagers for this second leg.
Get $200 in bonus bets instantly at DraftKings after your first bet of $5+ on Chelsea vs. PSG:
After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Last year, Green was profitable in multiple areas on his soccer betting picks, including Euro qualifying (+6.30 units), EFL Cup (+4.47), FA Cup (+3.07) and Champions League (+3.05), among others. Anyone who follows him could be way up.
Here are Green’s best bets and analysis for Chelsea vs. PSG on Tuesday, March 17.
Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain best bets
- PSG draw no bet (+130): 1 unit
- Over 3.5 goals (+105): 0.5 units
Chelsea will try to overturn a three-goal deficit when they host PSG at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The Blues have a mountain to climb after losing 5-2 to PSG in the first leg of this Champions League Round of 16 clash last week. The game was delicately poised at 2-2 after 74 minutes, but Vitinha capitalized on an error from Chelsea’s goalkeeper to make it 3-2. Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then came off the bench to fire in two late goals, putting the Parisians firmly in control of the two-legged contest. The action noshifts to London and Chelsea will need a miracle to reverse that three-goal deficit.
Could the extra rest give PSG an edge?
English teams dominated the Champions League group stage. Arsenal finished top of the table, while Liverpool were third, Spurs were fourth, Chelsea were sixth, Man City were eighth and Newcastle finished 12th . All six clubs qualified for the Round of 16, suggesting that English teams could dominate the knockout stages too. They were flying high, but they came crashing down to earth last week. Chelsea, City, and Spurs all suffered heavy defeats. Liverpool lost 1-0 to Galatasaray in Istanbul, while Arsenal drew with Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle drew with Barcelona. It meant that all six English clubs failed to win, and that could be down to fatigue.
Most European countries have a winter break, allowing the players to recharge, but that’s not the case in England. The English Premier League teams looked exhausted against their continental opponents and they were humbled in Paris, Madrid, Leverkusen, and Istanbul. This trend was most notable in Paris, where PSG took advantage of weary legs in the Chelsea defense during the closing stages of the game. PSG were due to play Monaco on Saturday last weekend, but the French league brought the game forward by a day. The Parisians played on Friday instead, and that gave them an extra day of rest as they prepared to face Chelsea. There was no such reprieve for Chelsea, who played out an epic FA Cup clash with Wrexham on the Saturday. That game went to extra time, so Chelsea’s players were tired by the time they arrived in Paris. Chelsea then had to travel back to England and face Newcastle in a crucial Premier League game on Saturday. The Blues lost that match 1-0. Meanwhile, PSG didn’t have to play at the weekend, so the players will be well-rested and raring to go by the time they step onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Chelsea could be exposed on the counterattack
Chelsea will need to take risks and attack PSG from the very first whistle if they’re to have any chance of turning this clash around. They certainly have the firepower to hurt PSG’s defense as they proved in the first leg. Malo Gusto was completely unmarked when he sauntered into the box to fire in Chelsea’s first goal, and Enzo Fernández grabbed another after Pedro Neto cut through the PSG defense. The Blues will throw everything at PSG in the first half, and they could have some joy. After all, PSG have only kept two clean sheets in their last seven matches.
However, it will also leave Chelsea exposed to counterattacks from PSG. The Parisians boast a great deal of pace and dynamism in attack with Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Desiré Doué and Bradley Barcola leading the charge. They have quality in midfield as Vitinha and João Neves can find those forwards with through-balls. This all suggests we’ll be in for another high-scoring encounter. PSG know they can lose by a couple of goals and still advance to the quarterfinals, but the players won’t want to lose this game. They suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final last summer. The 5-2 win last week earned them a measure of revenge and they will now be keen to complete the job. Chelsea have home advantage but the players are tired, and they could struggle against a revitalized PSG team.
