On Tuesday, the Champions League quarter-finals resumes, and all four ties played over the course of the next two days will be as equally as exciting. The match between Manchester City and PSG is particularly interesting as the first leg finished as a two-all draw, meaning that this second part is truly poised on a knife's edge ahead of the clash at the Etihad.
But which team truly has the advantage? Manuel Pellegrini's men do have those two vital away goals in hand, but will be it enough to see them past the Ligue 1 champions? Here are a few things that could also decide things in their favor:
1. PSG's frustrating road record against English sides
Although Les Parisiens defeated Chelsea last month at Stamford Bridge, it was the first time in their past seven matches they managed to beat a Premier League side away from the Parc des Princes. PSG have faced Manchester City before in European competition once before: during the UEFA Cup (Europa League) group stages, where they drew 0-0 at the Etihad on December 3, 2008.
2. Speaking of those two away goals...
Not surprisingly, in the vast majority of cases, the team who has grabbed at least two away goals has made it to the next round. How often? Try in nine out of 11 occasions. So, all things being equal, Manchester City have an over 80 per cent chance of progressing to the semi-finals - assuming they do not suffer an epic meltdown at the Etihad on Tuesday evening.
3. Les Parisiens and their case of stage fright
PSG have been knocked out of the quarter-finals in the past three seasons, so the pressure will definitely be on them to finally get things right this time around. Meanwhile, Manchester City are in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history and are navigating through totally unfamiliar territory, which means that although there will be some pressure on them as England's sole remaining representative in the Champions League, they will not have the weight of past bad history weighing on their shoulders tomorrow evening.
4. PSG's absentee list
The visitors could likely be without the services of some major players in the middle of the park for this match. For starters, Blaise Matuidi is definitely out due to a ban, and neither Javier Pastore nor Marco Verratti are likely to recover in time from injury to feature, despite the Italian international traveling with the squad. As any fan will know, all three are essential cogs in PSG's midfield. Whilst Les Parisiens have managed to navigate Ligue 1 sans the creativity Pastore and Verratti, the Champions League is an entirely different arena.
So, is it game over for PSG? Not so fast. We did mention this match was poised on a knife's edge, and Laurent Blanc's men certainly are no slouches themselves. Les Parisiens are very much alive in this tie, and without further ado, here are some facts which could tip this tie in their favor:
1. City's inability to keep the ball out of their own net...
Yes, Pellegrini's troops netted twice in Paris last week, but clean sheets are not something that City find easy to come by. In fact, so far, the Sky Blues have only managed one shutout in their nine Champions League matches so far this season. That was against Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev in their round of 16 second leg tie at the Etihad - in a rather frustrating scoreless stalemate.
2. ...but PSG have no problem finding the back of their opponents' nets
Blanc's side have scored at least two goals in seven out of their nine Champions League games so far this season. Since the knock-out rounds started, they have netted exactly two in each match, and will be looking to at least match - or perhaps top - that in their second consecutive trip to England in their European campaign this term.
3. Look to 2007 and 2009 for inspiration
Remember when we brought up that interesting stat about the two-away goal rule? Yes, nine out of 11 sides who scored two one the road progressed. But in two interesting instances, the first home side prevailed - and went on to even bigger things. In 2007, AC Milan recorded a 2-2 stalemate against Bayern Munich at the Stadio San Siro. They went on to beat die Roten at the Allianz Arena 2-0. Two years later, in April 2009, Manchester United ended up drawing 2-2 with Portuguese outfit Porto. The Red Devils, however, were able to overpower them in a hard-fought 1-0 win in the away fixture.
In both cases, this happened in the quarter-finals. More important, the Rossoneri and the Red Devils went on to that season's finals, with Milan winning it and Manchester United earning a runners-up medal. So, should PSG manage to get past Manchester City, based on the past two precedents, they do appear to have a good chance of making it to the San Siro in May.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - A man on a mission
We can't talk about PSG without talking about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, especially considering that it has taken him less than four seasons to become the club's all-time top goal-scorer. The 34-year-old Swedish superstar has been in top form for Les Parisiens this season, and so far has scored in his past five Champions League games.
Of course, this also includes three against English teams - sides that have frustrated him in the past - and he will certainly want to add more to that tally whilst making it six consecutive European matches for the first time in his career.
So will either of these interesting facts, stats, and general history come into play on Tuesday evening? Well, only one thing is certain: one of these two cash-rich and ambitious sides will unfortunately see their European dreams come to an end, whilst the other will be taking one step closer towards featuring in this season's final next month.
All in all, it will definitely be an interesting match-up between Manchester City and PSG at the Etihad that, given their past two meetings, could possibly take more than just 90 minutes of highly entertaining football to decide.
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