COSTA OR ZLATAN

Costa or Ibrahimovic: Which striker would you pick?

Chelsea host Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday night.

With some world-class striking talent on show, we asked Soccer Saturday pundits Phil Thompson and Matt Le Tissier which forward they’d prefer to have in their side – Diego Costa or Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

Le Tissier, very much a flair player in his heyday, has understandably picked PSG talisman Ibrahimovic, while former Liverpool defender Thompson is a bigger fan of Chelsea’s top scorer this season.

Phil Thompson – the case for Costa

“I’d have Diego Costa in my team all day long,” Thommo told Sky Sports. “I know people think he goes a bit far sometimes, but I love his attitude – he’s a winner. Now you might say Ibrahimovic is a winner too, but he’s a moody one!

“And I think, with Ibrahimovic, the players around him have to play with him and to his liking – he doesn’t adjust for others – he plays for himself a lot of the time, whereas Costa is a proper team player.

“I could imagine Ibrahimovic getting my back up if I was playing in the same side as him, because it seems to all depend which side of the bed he gets out of.

“Not to deny his goalscoring ability or his prowess, but I like to know exactly what I’m going to get out of my team-mates week-in-week out. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say no to having Ibrahimovic in my side, but I’d have Costa in before him.”

The tie is finely balanced at 1-1 from the first leg, and Thommo is expecting PSG to cancel out Chelsea’s away goal, although he’s predicting the Blues to edge a close encounter at Stamford Bridge.

He said: “There’s no doubt it’s the biggest game in the Champions League this week and I think it’s going to be very, very tight.

“I’m going to go with Chelsea to go through and I think they’ll do so without the need for extra-time – I’ll go with 2-1 to the Blues with Eden Hazard to score first.”

Le Tissier – the case for Ibrahimovic

“They are very different players, but if you were to ask me which one I’d want in my team I’d probably go with Ibrahimovic over Costa,” Le Tissier told Sky Sports.

“I’m more of a fan of a player with a bit of flair that produces something out of nothing, something out of the ordinary.

“Costa isn’t going to dribble past three of four players. He needs players to create stuff around him and draw defenders out. Fortunately for him he has one of the best players in the Premier League to do that in Hazard.

“Costa is very effective and the perfect man for that Chelsea team with the way he leads the line and holds up the ball. When he’s getting the right supply he’s tough to stop but some sides have managed it.”

Le Tissier has likewise predicted a 2-1 win for Chelsea in normal time, but he’s wary of the threat of Ibrahimovic and believes Jose Mourinho must get his team selection right to deal with the Swede.

Le Tissier said: “Forcing Ibrahimovic away from goal and preventing him from getting the ball at his feet inside the box will be key for Chelsea.

“It will be really interesting to see what Mourinho does in terms of his centre-back pairing, assuming Nemanja Matic comes back in, picking between [Kurt] Zouma and Gary Cahill.

“Maybe Cahill was half to blame for PSG's goal in the first leg, so I’m not sure who he’ll go with. It’s possibly the biggest decision for Mourinho on the night.”

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