beIN SPORTS

Paris Saint-Germain will be without four players when they host Chelsea at Parc des Princes in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. After finishing Saturday’s surprise 2-2 draw at home to Stade Malherbe Caen with nine men because of a spate of five injuries during the 90 minutes, coach Laurent Blanc will consider himself lucky.

Lucas Moura, Yohan Cabaye, Serge Aurier and Thiago Motta are the unlucky quartet to have been ruled out for the crunch last 16 first leg clash, with the Brazilian and the Frenchman struggling with adductor problems, while the Ivorian injured his quadriceps and the Italian his calf.

Marquinhos and Blaise Matuidi also exited the pitch with knocks during the Caen match, while Javier Pastore was rested as he tried to prove his fitness in time for the encounter with Jose Mourinho’s team. All three were passed fit on Monday and feature in Blanc’s squad for the game.

Although the news that Marquinhos, Matuidi and Pastore are all available for at least consideration is a sizeable boost, the loss of a supreme talent like Lucas for one and possibly both legs is a huge loss.

While it is fair to say that the jet-heeled Brazilian’s form has dipped a little of late, overall the 22-year-old Selecao star has still be one of PSG’s top performers this season so far. On top of that, Lucas’ pace would have been a key aspect of Blanc’s game plan to outwit Mourinho and Chelsea after last year’s quarterfinal exit on away goals.

Ezequiel Lavezzi is likely to be the replacement for Les Parisiens’ No. 7 in Blanc’s starting XI, also providing pace to unnerve the English Premier League leaders’ back line - just not of the searing variety that the South American offers.

Lucas has added goals to his impressive repertoire this season, having already scored more this campaign than he had in his previous two put together. Although he is still waiting to find the net I Europe for the French champions, there was a feeling prior to his injury against Caen that the Brazilian was primed to take centre stage for PSG in both legs against Chelsea.

Pastore’s inclusion will be of some consolation to Blanc; for the pace he loses in Lucas, at least he regains some creativity in el Flaco. Marquinhos’ inclusion is also a big boost, considering how much better the balance in defence is when he plays at right-back in place of Gregory van der Wiel.

The Brazilian defender’s battle with Belgian wizard Eden Hazard, assuming that the South American starts over the attack-minded Dutchman, could be one of the defining factors in this two-legged battle. It will then be up to Thiago Silva and David Luiz to keep Diego Costa quiet.

Another decisive area is the midfield battle, where the likes of Matuidi and Marco Verratti will be trying to silence Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas.

PSG’s ability to keep a talent like the Spaniard quiet could go a long way towards deciding the first leg and the Italian showed himself adept at completing a challenging man-marking job when he looked excellent in spite of the 3-1 loss away at Barcelona late last year.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani will need to pull their weight up top and take any and every chance that comes their way, with Lavezzi’s pace likely to cause the Chelsea defence a few problems - although not as many as Lucas would arguably have provided.

However, the most important area for the French champions going into this crucial first leg is the defence and Blanc should be able to go with an almost first choice back four. Considering the importance of keeping a clean sheet at home this time around, the loss of the majority of the four injured stars will only be seen as a nuisance.

The loss of Lucas could prove to be tie defining though and Blanc will be hoping that he can call on his Brazilian star for at least the second leg. If PSG can keep Chelsea at bay in the home leg, then the Selecao sensation’s return could potentially make the difference in what might be a tight second leg at Stamford Bridge.