'Too risky' for Verratti to start against Chelsea - Blanc

The supremely talented Italy midfielder is a vital member of the PSG side but has not started a game in a month due to fitness problems and Blanc indicated he will only be on the bench at kick-off in the last 16, first leg against the Premier League outfit.

Verratti came off the bench for the second half of Saturday's 0-0 home draw with Lille, replacing Argentina playmaker Javier Pastore, who Blanc said is also unable to start against Chelsea after suffering with calf problems lately.

When asked about the fitness of Verratti, Blanc said: "It is like Pastore. I don't think he can play from the start against Chelsea. There are too many risks.

"Champions League matches are played at a very high pace. It is a superior level to a Ligue 1 game. If you play, the risk is that you end up pushing yourself too much."

Without Verratti, Blanc is likely to start Adrien Rabiot alongside Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi in central midfield, although he could opt to play Angel Di Maria in a deeper role.

"Of course the first leg against Chelsea is important, but there will also be a second leg and I hope there will be more to come after that," said Blanc, whose side extended their record unbeaten league run to 35 matches with Saturday's result.

"We also need to think about the remainder of the season, which I hope will be interesting. The match is important, but there are two legs so there are risks but they are moderate, calculated risks.

"After the match, he (Verratti) had no particular pain, just a few aches, 'Flaco' (Pastore) too, which is to be expected.

"We had planned to keep Pastore on longer but he had no more than 45 minutes in him so we did not insist."

Captain Thiago Silva and 27-goal leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return against Chelsea along with Motta and Maxwell after the quartet were all rested against Lille as PSG moved provisionally 25 points ahead of Monaco at the top of Ligue 1.