Mbappe the biggest threat to Bayern's unbeaten run, Chelsea seeking more Portuguese joy - Champions League in Opta numbers

By Sports Desk April 07, 2021

Bayern Munich host Paris Saint-Germain in a repeat of last season's final and Porto meet Chelsea at a neutral venue in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first legs.

Bavarian giants Bayern beat PSG 1-0 to win the trophy last year and have remained unbeaten throughout this season's campaign.

But the reigning European champions are without injured star man Robert Lewandowski and do not have the best of records in this fixture.

Porto will be looking to build on their impressive win over Juventus in the last round when they take on Chelsea in what will be classed at their home leg at Sevilla's Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

The Portuguese side famously lifted the trophy in the 2003-04 season under Jose Mourinho, who was Chelsea boss the last time they reached this stage of the competition seven years ago.

Bayern Munich v Paris Saint-Germain: Can PSG exact some revenge against Lewandowski-less holders?

Not since March 2019, when going down 3-1 to Liverpool at the last-16 stage, have Bayern tasted defeat in Europe's premier club competition.

That is a run spanning 19 games and they could become the second team ever in the competition to go 20 without losing after Manchester United (25 between 2007 and 2009).

The Bavarians have won all but one of those matches, including a victory in last August's final, but they have a negative overall record against Wednesday's opponents.

PSG have won five and lost four of the previous 10 Champions League encounters, though this will be just their second meeting in the knockout phase.

Indeed, Bayern have only lost more Champions League matches against Real Madrid (10) than PSG, while against no side have the Ligue 1 club won more games in the competition.

Bayern will also be without Lewandowski, who has 15 goals in 13 Champions League games since Hansi Flick took over in November 2019 - the most of any player in the competition across that timeframe.

PSG will have their key men available, with Kylian Mbappe looking to build on a return of 35 goal involvements in 33 games for the club in the Champions League.

The France international has scored six goals in seven games in this season's competition, including four goals across the two legs with Barcelona last time out, making this his joint-best campaign alongside 2016-17.


Porto v Chelsea: Conceicao's charges hoping to jump quarter-final hurdle

This will be the eighth meeting between Porto and Chelsea in the Champions League, the Blues winning five and losing just one of those previous encounters.

Only against Madrid (six) have Porto lost more matches, and they were eliminated 3-2 by Chelsea the only previous time they met in the knockout stages in the 2006-07 last 16.

That was a familiar story, Chelsea having won 75 per cent of their Champions League games against Portuguese sides - only versus Spanish teams (13) have they won more, a record they added to with victories over Atletico Madrid in the last 16.

Should they overcome Porto here, Thomas Tuchel - appointed as Frank Lampard's successor in January - will become just the second Chelsea boss to win his first three Champions League knockout-stage matches after Roberto Di Matteo in 2011-12.

Porto are certainly no strangers to the last eight, reaching this stage for the third time since going all the way in 2003-04, but they have won only one of those six ties.

At 38 years and 40 days, it could be an occasion to remember for veteran defender Pepe, who is in line to become the oldest outfield player to feature in a Champions League quarter-final since Manchester United's Ryan Giggs (40y, 123d) in April 2014.

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