Chelsea's John Terry and Didier Drogba share a joke during training ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League matchJohn Sibley/Reuters
LONDON - Chelsea are brimming with confidence and, fortified by a seven-day break, go into Wednesday's Champions League last-16 return match as favourites to knock Paris St Germain out for the second season in a row.
Defender Gary Cahill says "there's a great buzz" around Stamford Bridge after the Londoners followed their 2-0 League Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur on March 1 by winning 1-0 at West Ham United in the Premier League three days later.
Treble-chasing Chelsea, who are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, have not played since their Upton Park triumph and, according to Cahill, the Wembley win over Spurs has lifted the squad's self-belief to new heights.
"There is a great buzz around the place," Cahill said. "The (League) Cup final was huge in terms of the atmosphere around the club and the dressing room."
Although Chelsea drew 1-1 in the first leg at PSG, the London club left the French capital better placed to advance than in the previous year's quarterfinals. The Blues overcame a 3-1 deficit then to advance on away goals by winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Here are some are other some things to know going into the second leg:
FINISHING STRUGGLING
PSG coach Laurent Blanc is worried that his team's poor finishing in recent weeks could prove costly at Stamford Bridge.
Although PSG easily beat Lens 4-1 on Saturday, his players missed a glut of chances — with wingers Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi both extremely wasteful in that game and in the previous week's 0-0 draw with Monaco.
"We'll need to be more clinical against Chelsea, I don't need to spell out why," Blanc said. "We'll have fewer chances over there."
PSG traditionally relies heavily on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for its goals, but his form has not been great since he came back from a nagging heel injury. Although the Sweden forward's 16 goals in 26 games this season is a credible haul, it is a significantly lower ratio than he managed in the two previous campaigns and includes five penalties.
Edinson Cavani has 18 goals this season, and his form is improving, but if those two are off form then PSG will need goals from the midfield. However, Thiago Motta has not scored so far this season, Blaise Matuidi has managed one goal — against Lens on Saturday — and Marco Verratti just two.
But David Luiz has found his range since stepping up from central defence to midfield, and the former Chelsea player has found the net in his past two matches.
COSTA'S GOAL SEARCH
The most significant addition to the Chelsea squad since hosting PSG a year ago was Diego Costa.
The Spain striker has netted 16 Premier League goals this season, but his finishing has evaded him in the last six games in all competitions. And the former Atletico Madrid player is still searching for his first European goal in a Chelsea shirt.
POLICE PRESENCE
The behaviour of fans will be in the spotlight around London on Wednesday after racism by Chelsea fans in Paris last month. A black commuter was filmed being forced off a train by supporters who then chanted: "We're racist and that's the way we like it."
Matches between PSG and Chelsea have also led to violent clashes between hooligan elements of both clubs in the past.
PSG published a message from British police addressed to its travelling fans on its website Monday, advising fans not to "frequent pubs near to the stadium, before and after the game."
MUNICH — Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is well aware of the backlash that awaits him if his team fail to advance past Shakhtar Donetsk into the Champions League last eight on Wednesday.
The Spaniard, whose team won the domestic double in his first season in charge and are again favourites to repeat it, has faced no criticism whatsoever from club bosses or fans in his commanding 18 months in charge.
But the former Barcelona coach said that would change if Bayern did not eliminate the Ukrainians in Munich on Wednesday after their goalless first leg in Lviv last month.
"I know what will happen if we do not make it to the next round of the Champions League. Bayern is a big club," Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday. "I am a young coach but I know what to expect."
"I know in what kind of situation we are in. I know it will be a major problem if we do not reach the quarter-finals," said Guardiola, whose contract with the five-time European champions runs out in 2016.
Bayern have set their sights on repeating their 2013 win, after also making the final in 2010 and 2012 and are banking on Guardiola, who has already won the trophy with Barcelona, to deliver the silverware.
Failure to do so would put a dent in Guardiola's winning reputation but it is extremely unlikely that Bayern would want to end the deal early.
While it will be too soon for captain Philipp Lahm to stage his comeback following a broken ankle, Guardiola said everyone else was fully fit.
"It is very simple. We have to win. Donetsk are through with a (score) draw. But I am optimistic. I have full confidence in the team," he said.
The only time Bayern Munich went out of a European competition after drawing the first leg away 0-0 was in 1981 against Liverpool, which advanced with a 1-1 draw in Munich.
The other five times, the Bavarians went through and they hope to do it again on Wednesday against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainian team will go through with any draw other than 0-0.
Here are some other things to know about Wednesday's match:
BAYERN'S VULNERABILITY
If Pep Guardiola's team has one weak link it is defending against counterattacks.
Guardiola's lateral defenders often move into the midfield to give his team an advantage there. But that can make the back vulnerable to counterattacks, as demonstrated by Real Madrid in last season's 4-0 semifinal win in Munich.
"Their forwards are as fast as the wind," Bayern director Matthias Sammer said of Donetsk. "We are ready but we are also modest and we know that we are facing a dangerous opponent."
KNOWING THEIR JOB
The Donetsk team is stacked with Brazilians and Bayern players think stopping the forwards will do the job.
"Donetsk is dangerous, but it only had one chance in the home leg," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. "It's a game we simply have to go out and win. We like these situations.
"We know we have to be cautious and keep their counterattacks under control," Neuer said.
DANTE OUT?
Dante, Bayern's other Brazilian defender apart from Rafinha, has been struggling in recent matches and was substituted after only 32 minutes in Saturday's 3-1 win in Hannover.
Guardiola insisted after the match that the move was tactical, since he brought in a forward, Robert Lewandowski, for Dante.
But the German media is speculating that Dante may be released by Bayern once the season is over.
EXTRA MOTIVATION
Shakhtar has been forced to play its games away from its home in Donetsk because of the unrest in eastern Ukraine. Some players feel this may not be such a handicap.
"The fact that we are a long way away from home, our only motivation is to play to win, so that our people in Donetsk can support us and rejoice with us," Shakhtar defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy.
"The most important thing is that we didn't concede a goal. We have a good chance now to beat Bayern. We will see on the day."
Files from Reuters were used in this report