PARIS: Wednesday’s Champions League action sees Paris St-Germain and Chelsea meet for the first time since last year’s Club World Cup final, while Real Madrid host Manchester City in the first leg of their last-16 tie as the sides clash in a knockout tie for the fifth season running.

Premier League leaders Arsenal, who have never been crowned European champions, remain on track for four trophies this season as they chase their first major silverware since 2020. Mikel Arteta’s men won all eight matches in the league phase to cruise into the last 16, where success against Leverkusen will set up a tie against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting.

Central defender William Saliba has missed Arsenal’s past two matches with an ankle issue but could be back here.

Currently sixth in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen are still rebuilding after a tumultuous summer in which they lost coach Xabi Alonso and several players including Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka and new Gunner Piero Hincapie.

Remarkably, Leverk­usen’s win against Olympiacos in the play-off round was their first victory in a Champions League knockout tie since 2002, when they reached the final before losing to Zinedine Zidane’s Real.

PSG are wobbling as the reigning European champions put their title on the line against Chelsea in the first meeting of the teams since the London side won 3-0 in last July’s Club World Cup final.

Luis Enrique’s PSG edged past Ligue 1 rivals AS Monaco in the play-off round and lost to the principality side on Friday as their lead at the top of the French table from Lens was cut to one point.

The Parisians are a long way off the sublime form they showed in the second half of last season, with star player Ousmane Dembele one of several players struggling for fitness — he is expected to be available here, however.

However, Enrique said on Tuesday his side had “no doubts whatsoever” that they can rediscover the form that led them to Champions League glory last season.

“We have no doubts whatsoever. We are going into the best part of the season and we need to be able to handle the step up,” the Spaniard told reporters at PSG’s training ground when asked whether his team could return to the level of performance they showed a year ago.

“All the English teams are exceptional, top-class sides, and Chelsea we know very well from having played against them last summer,” he said.

“They have changed coach since then and some players too, but we know how difficult these games are and we will try to be ready.”

PSG will also be wary of Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior, who did well against them in his 18 months in charge of Strasbourg.

Enrique further added that trying to retain the Champions League title was less daunting a prospect than winning it for the first time.

Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens are nearing a return for Chelsea but neither were risked in Saturday’s win against Wrexham in the FA Cup and it is unclear if they will feature here. Chelsea reignited their chase for Champions League qualification for next season last midweek as Joao Pedro’s hat-trick inspired a 4-1 win at Aston Villa.

‘NOT INFERIOR’

Like PSG, the competition’s most decorated side Real are also struggling for form but manager Alvaro Arbeloa insisted on Tuesday that his team should not feel inferior to City, even without injured striker Kylian Mbappe.

Record 15-time European champions stumbled at home against City in the league phase, back when Xabi Alonso was in charge.

Their prospects of extending their European dominion have not risen much higher since, particularly with a spate of injuries including to key players Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, who are set to miss the first leg at least.

“It doesn’t matter the circumstance, it doesn’t matter who is in front of us, we are Real Madrid and we should not feel inferior to anyone,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“Tomorrow we have an opponent we know well, the identity of the club, coach, players, what Manchester City is... but we’ll head into it full of hope.”

Mbappe was in France last week for tests and treatment on a knee sprain, which Arbeloa said was looking better.

Vinicius Junior, vital in the play-off round against Benfica, carries the keys to Real’s potential success here.

The City boss made 10 chances for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Newcastle and they still cantered to a 3-1 win.

Erling Haaland did not feature in that game due to an ankle injury and the Norway striker’s availability remains in doubt.

BODO/GLIMT V SPORTING

Bodo/Glimt’s fairytale run continues as they welcome Portuguese champions Sporting to the Aspmyra Stadion, which lies inside the Arctic Circle.

Kjetil Knutsen’s team finished the league phase with wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid before beating Inter Milan home and away in the play-offs. That success was all the more remarkable given that the Norwegian league is only just about to come out of its off-season.

Winger Jens Petter Hauge is Glimt’s danger man, having scored six goals in 10 Champions League appearances this season. Sporting, meanwhile, make the journey from Lisbon having finished an impressive seventh in the league phase, in which they notably beat PSG.

Rui Borges’s team are unbeaten in 12 games but were held 2-2 at Braga on Saturday, a result which kept them four points behind domestic league leaders Porto. Their main threat is Colombian striker Luis Suarez, who has 31 goals in all competitions this season.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2026