Paris vs Real Madrid Champions League round of 16 preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, squad changes

Paris and Real Madrid meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday 15 February.

Where to watch Paris vs Real Madrid on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

This is perhaps the tie of the round, with two bona fide heavyweights set to duke it out for a place in the quarter-finals. Madrid had the more assertive group stage and – with 13 titles to their name and European Cup doyen Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout – have no shortage of pedigree to call upon. Paris, though, promise to be quite the challenge.

Starting line-ups

Paris: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes; Danilo, Paredes, Verratti; Di María, Messi, Mbappé

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić; Asensio, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior

Form guide

Paris
Since Matchday 6 (all competitions, most recent first): WWDWWDWDWW
Where they stand: 1st in Ligue 1

Real Madrid
Since Matchday 6: DWLDWWWWWLWDW
Where they stand: 1st in Liga

Expert predictions

Vanessa Tomaszewski, Paris reporter
Paris may have been eliminated from the French Cup by Nice, but they remain well clear at the Ligue 1 summit following a last-minute win against Rennes at the weekend. Kylian Mbappé struck the decisive blow on that occasion and all eyes will once again be on his partnership with Lionel Messi and, just maybe, Neymar too.

Joseph Walker, Real Madrid reporter
Carlo Ancelotti's side often raise their game for the big occasion and they do not come much bigger than a round of 16 tie with Paris. Despite starting the group stage slowly, they looked like a finely tuned machine once they got going. However, you sense the return to fitness of Karim Benzema will be key to their game plan of getting a positive result to take back to the Santiago Bernabéu.

What the coaches say

Mauricio Pochettino, Paris coach: "There is no more pressure on one side than the other. I respect Real Madrid; they are one of the biggest clubs in the world, who have won everything. However, in my opinion, there is no favourite. It could be a final given the quality of the players."

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: "The only pressure we have is facing a great team like Paris; it's more motivation than pressure. It's not a difficult game to prepare for as all the players are very motivated. It has to be a complete game from us. Both teams will try to produce when in possession and hit each other on counters. Our football is very alike."

Squad changes

Paris
In: None
Out: Teddy Alloh

Real Madrid
In: Peter*, Diego Piñeiro*
Out: None

*Registered to List B. Each club is entitled to register an unlimited number of players on List B during the season. The list must be submitted by no later than 24.00CET on the day before the match in question.