Neymar has missed PSG's last four games
Borussia Dortmund have more to worry about than just fit-again Paris St-Germain forward Neymar, says the German team's boss Lucien Favre.
Brazil forward Neymar has been named in the PSG squad for the Champions League last-16 tie, having missed the last four games with a rib injury.
"They have so many players with great qualities. They beat Real Madrid even without Neymar," said Favre.
"Neymar is a great player but so are (Kylian) Mbappe and (Angel) Di Maria."
PSG have exited at the first knockout round of the Champions League in the last three seasons.
This season they progressed by topping a group containing 13-time European champions Real Madrid with five wins from six games.
"I can name at least 10 players on that team with huge potential," Favre added.
"They are a dangerous team. When you lose the ball, they move very fast up front. The key will be how we defend.
"It's important we're very strong on winning the ball and then, when in possession, that we stay calm."
Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel agrees with his manager that PSG are far from a one-man team.
"If Neymar plays, and I am pretty sure he is going to play, then we have to take care of him," said the Belgium player.
"But they have so many good players we have to be compact and we have to defend as a team and really be strong."
The tie between Ligue 1 leaders PSG and Dortmund, who are third in the Bundesliga, could be a thriller - PSG's last five game have contained 29 goals, while Dortmund's have witnessed 27.
'It's not Jurgen Klopp coming back'
Tuchel led Dortmund to victory in the German Cup on 27 May 2017, but was sacked just three days later
Tuesday's game sees the return of PSG boss Thomas Tuchel to Dortmund, whom he managed from 2015 to 2017, before being sacked shortly after winning the German Cup.
Relations between Tuchel and chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke became strained after Dortmund's team bus was damaged by an explosion in April 2017.
Tuchel claimed neither he nor his players were consulted about whether they should play their Champions League quarter-final home tie against Monaco fewer than 24 hours after the incident, but Watzke denied that was the case.
"It's not Jurgen Klopp coming back," said Watzke. "Thomas Tuchel is a great coach and when I see him, I will certainly greet him and I think he will do the same.
"We worked well together for two years, and in the end things got a bit tough. We will certainly not become great friends in life any more. But that was three years ago."
Match stats
-
The only previous encounter between Borussia Dortmund and PSG was in the 2010/11 Europa League group stages - both games ended in a draw (1-1 in Dortmund, 0-0 in Paris).
Borussia Dortmund have always scored at least two goals in their six Champions League home games against French clubs. However, among the 16 teams qualified for this season's knockout phase, no team scored fewer goals in the group stages (eight).
Borussia Dortmund have made it past the Champions League round of 16 only once in the last five seasons. It was in 2016-17 under current PSG manager Tuchel, eventually knocked out by Monaco in the quarter-finals.
Tuchel has won none of his five away games against Dortmund (D2 L3), all of these taking place when he was in charge of Mainz (2009-2014).
Borussia Dortmund
-
Dortmund have lost four of their last six Champions League home games in the knockout phase (W2), including the last two (2-3 v Monaco in 2016-17, 1-0 v Tottenham in 2018/19).
Dortmund's last 22 goals in the Champions League have all come from open play, the longest current run among the remaining sides in the competition.
Two of the three youngest players to have scored 3+ goals and delivered 3+ assists in the Champions League since last season play for Borussia Dortmund: 19-year-old Jadon Sancho (three goals, three assists) and 21-year-old Achraf Hakimi (four goals, three assists). The other is Paris SG's 21-year-old Kylian Mbappe (nine goals, eight assists).
PSG
-
PSG have reached the Champions League knockout stages for the eighth consecutive season - only Real Madrid (23), Barcelona (16) and Bayern Munich (12) are on a longer run. However, in that time, the French side have never gone past the quarter-finals and have been eliminated in the last 16 in each of the past three seasons.
They conceded only two goals in six Champions League group games this season, fewer than any other team.
None of PSG's 26 games in the Champions League knockout stages have ended goalless - that's more matches without a 0-0 than any other team in the latter phase of the competition.
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe has scored/assisted 30 goals in 30 Champions League games (19 goals, 11 assists). He's netted three goals against Borussia Dortmund, his joint-best record in the Champions League against a single opponent.
Source: bbc.com