One of the standout ties in the Champions League will take place on Tuesday evening, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Real Madrid for the first leg of their last-16 tie.
PSG finished second in Group A to secure their spot in the first knockout round, while Real Madrid claimed first position in Group D to progress to the round of 16, with the first leg taking place in Paris.
The Ligue 1 giants lost to Manchester City in the semi-finals of last season's tournament, while they also reached the final in 2019-20; Real Madrid were also present in the last four last term, losing out to eventual winners Chelsea.
PSG are desperate to finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy, but Real Madrid are the most successful side in the history of the European Cup, winning the competition on 13 occasions.
Both sides will be determined to secure a positive result on Tuesday evening ahead of the second leg at Bernabeu on March 9.
Some of the world's finest players will be on display in Paris, and with that in mind, Sports Mole chooses a combined XI, selecting players that will be available for the European contest.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was exceptional for Italy in their Euro 2020 success and has also impressed in his 15 appearances for PSG this season, but Thibaut Courtois has to get the nod between the sticks in this side, with the Belgium international enjoying a fine campaign for Real Madrid, keeping 13 clean sheets in 33 appearances.
Despite the talent in both squads, the back four was relatively easy to choose; the right-back spot was a straight fight between Dani Carvajal and Achraf Hakimi, and it is difficult to look past the latter, particularly as Carvajal has had his injury problems in recent weeks. However, Ferland Mendy wins the battle to be involved at left-back, with the Frenchman set to overcome a hamstring injury to feature for Carlo Ancelotti's side, and he is chosen ahead of PSG's Nuno Mendes.
In the middle, David Alaba has been brilliant in his first season at Real Madrid, while there had to be a spot for inspirational PSG captain Marquinhos. Eder Militao has impressed alongside Alaba at the heart of the Los Blancos defence this term, but he just misses out, while Sergio Ramos has struggled with injury problems since making the move to the French capital on a free transfer.
The midfield was difficult to choose, with four players having to fit into three positions. It would have been easy to simply select Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who remain one of the most influential midfield trios in world football, with all three contributing heavily to Real Madrid's strong campaign.
However, there had to be a spot for Marco Verratti, who has scored twice and provided one assist in 20 appearances for PSG this season. The 29-year-old appears to have overcome his fitness problems in recent weeks and will be keen to prove that he is one of the top midfielders on the planet over the two legs.
The need for balance in midfield meant that Casemiro had to be included, so Kroos just misses out to Modric, with the Croatian enjoying a wonderful campaign, proving himself to still be one of the leading central midfielders in world football at the age of 36.
Neymar has only scored three times this season, and the fact that the 30-year-old could yet miss out on this match through injury means that he could not be considered for a start in attack. Vinicius Junior has enjoyed a wonderful campaign for Los Blancos, on the other hand, scoring 15 times and registering 10 assists in 32 appearances, and the Brazilian is so unfortunate to miss out on a spot in this side.
Indeed, Kylian Mbappe - 21 goals and 16 assists this term - and Lionel Messi - seven goals and eight assists - had to be included, while it was impossible to leave out Karim Benzema considering that the Frenchman has scored 24 goals and registered nine assists at club level this term. Benzema faces a fight to prove his fitness due to a hamstring problem, but the 34-year-old is allegedly winning his battle to be available from the first whistle.
Matt Law
