Four more European big-hitters occupy centre stage on Wednesday night when the second pair of Champions League quarter-final first-leg ties take place.
Three-time finalists Atletico Madrid welcome 1997 winners Borussia Dortmund to the Spanish capital while Paris Saint-Germain take on five-time champions Barcelona at the Parc des Princes.
That means a reunion between former Nou Camp team-mates Luis Enrique and Xavi, now the respective coaches of PSG and Barca. Interestingly, Enrique was the man who coached Barcelona to their most recent Champions League triumph nine years ago.
PSG are in sumptuous form, with Kylian Mbappe at the peak of his powers, though Barcelona have stabilised after a rocky start to the campaign and know they have the tools to beat anyone.
Atletico are in up-and-down form and made hard work of seeing off Serie A pace-setters Inter Milan in the last round, with Dortmund getting the better of PSV Eindhoven in their last-16 tie.
- Draw or Borussia Dortmund double chance
- Paris Saint-Germain to win
Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
On the evidence of the previous round, there is unlikely to be too much between Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Atletico needed a penalty shoot-out to beat last season’s finalists Inter Milan while Dortmund were pushed all the way by PSV in a match they eventually clinched 3-1 on aggregate.
For Atleti it has been a difficult season, though European success has masked domestic deficiencies - they are a remote fourth in La Liga and haven’t strung back-to-back wins together since the end of January.
Revered strikers Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata are struggling for form, with each having managed just one goal since January.
Dortmund have lost only twice since Christmas - and both of those defeats came at home. They are unbeaten in nine away games with a 2-0 win at bitter rivals Bayern Munich the most recent success in that streak, the sort of result that will give them the confidence to go anywhere and produce a positive display.
Atletico are odds-on but are certainly not playing like odds-on shots and given their matches are generally tight, the value lies with a punt on the Draw or Dortmund double chance.
DRAW OR BORUSSIA DORTMUND DOUBLE CHANCE
Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona
The stakes are sky-high for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona who need European glory like never before.
The Parisian giants have spent a decade or more under their middle-east owners knocking on the door but refusing to go in and they must be wondering if they will ever be crowned kings of Europe. For Barca, miles off Real Madrid’s pace in La Liga, this represents their one shot at a trophy in 2023/24.
To add spice, PSG are managed by Luis Enrique, the last man to coach Barca to Champions League glory and a former team-mate of the Nou Camp’s current head coach, Xavi.
And then of course, there are the strikers, the extraordinary Kylian Mbappe, who has 39 club goals this season and Robert Lewandowski, on the more modest 20 mark.
Both clubs are in good form, with Barca on an 11-game unbeaten streak and PSG unbeaten at home since September. Mbappe is the key and can inspire the French powers to a critical, if narrow, triumph.
