The UEFA Champions League is getting hotter by the day as the champions of France and Germany will collide tomorrow night at the Parc de Princes when Ligue 1 title holders Paris Saint Germain take on their Bundesliga counterparts Bayern Munich in what will be a hotly contested round of 16 fixture. The Parisians are hoping that 2023 will be the year when they end their long wait for the Champions League trophy while the Bavarians are dreaming of being crowned as champions of Europe for a record seventh time. 

PSG were knocked out of the Coupe de France by Marseille last week and they failed to return to winning ways when they faced Monaco in the league following a 3-1 defeat with all goals being scored in the first half of the match. The Parisians still boast a healthy five-point lead but losing two consecutive games can dent their confidence as they go into their fixture against Bayern Munich a side they lost to in the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League final. PSG would have hoped to face a slightly easier opponent at this stage of the competition but despite finishing level on 14 points with Benfica, they were forced to settle for the second position in the group as the Portuguese powerhouse bet them on away goals scored. 

Last time out, the French giants exited the competition at this stage as they failed to guard their first-leg victory and were eliminated by eventual giants Real Madrid who mounted a fierce comeback during the second leg of the fixture. PSG will need to make most of their home advantage tomorrow and they can draw inspiration from having won 12 and drawn 3 of their last 15 games on home soil this season. Additionally, they have also won six of their previous Champions League home games at the Parc des Princes beating the likes of Real Madrid, and Manchester City amongst others. They have also only lost one of their five competitive meetings against Bayern Munich which happens to be the final they lost 1-0 back in April 2021.

Bayern Munich experienced something of a mini-crisis given their football stature when they returned from their Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup break with three consecutive 1-1 stalemates. However, a sense of normalcy has been restored back in recent weeks. The high-scoring side racked up four goals in wins over Mainz and Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga respectively giving them much-needed confidence ahead of their UCL clash against PSG. They are currently seating on top of the Bundesliga table although not pretty as they are only one point adrift of the second-placed Union Berlin. Their arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund are only three points away from them at position three. 

The Bavarians made light work of a tricky group that included La Liga top-of-the-table Barcelona and Italian giants Inter Milan as they progressed to the knockout stages without losing even a single fixture. They are now faced with another chance of winning their first seven matches of a Champions League campaign for a second time as they achieved the feat during the 2019-20 season. The perennial Bundesliga champions usually fare well at this stage of the UCL competition having progressed to the last eight of the competition in 9 out of their last 10 seasons with the inclusion of their last immediate three campaigns included. 

(Image: InsideSport.IN)