Chelsea's Premier League season has not gone as planned, so the Champions League is the club's lone chance at success. The first match against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 saw the Blues fall 2-1. They now have a chance at redemption in the second leg, and getting major names back from injuries could see the team get an improbable victory.
PSG is built to beat Chelsea. If the Blues are going to get a win, they must dig deep, and outside motivation is starting to come in for the roster. PSG's social media accounts decided to give some locker room material for Chelsea when they referred to Diego Costa as a fraud. Costa has scored 10 goals in 14 games but has just two goals in Champions League play. Manager Guus Hiddink stepped up to defend his elite defender ahead of the PSG show down.
"I'm very proud of him the way he's playing and, going not over the edge, but he likes to fight in the real way of the game," Hiddink said. "That's what we like. I protect him and support him when he's doing what he has done in my period at Chelsea."
The Blues will be getting Costa on the pitch for this Champions League match. Hiddink confirmed that both Costa and Pedro were back in training and will be available to play against PSG. Costa has been dealing with a tendon issue that caused him to miss Saturday's match against Stoke. Pedro has been out with a hamstring problem that left him out of the last two games. Both players will be critical against PSG.
One player not expected to be on the pitch when Chelsea faces off against PSG is captain John Terry. The star confirmed that he will be held out of the math due to a hamstring issue that he failed to recover from. Terry has been out since limping off the field in February's win over Newcastle. He was hoping to get back on the pitch against PSG, but it will not happen in time.
"I'm gutted to be missing the PSG game," Terry said. "It's so frustrating missing any game, but these big Champions League nights at the Bridge are unbelievable, and it hurts as a player not to be involved. I have thrown everything at my injury trying to get back fit, but sometimes you have to let the injury settle, and thankfully I'm on the mend and hope to be back soon."
It will be a tall task for Chelsea to come back and beat PSG. The club has a chance to progress to the quarterfinals, but it will need to play its best football to get there. If Chelsea were to fall on Wednesday, the club could face major changes and financial backlash, as well. Losing Terry will not be a huge issue, but getting back Costa and Pedro could be the x-factors needed to win.
