The best defence in the English Premier League (24 goals conceded) faces the most prolific attack in France (71 goals scored) in a contest that could see Paris Saint-Germain come of age on the European scene, just one year after narrowly falling to Barcelona at the same stage of the competition.
There could hardly be a more difficult draw to forecast as the hosts, led by charismatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, face a visiting side boasting a coach in Jose Mourinho who is the most successful manager of this competition left in the tournament.
PSG have the opportunity the reach the Champions League semi-final for the first time since 1995, when a team led by George Weah and David Ginola were thwarted by Fabio Capello's AC Milan.
Since then PSG have gradually vanished from the European scene. Instead it has been English, Spanish and now German clubs dominating the latter stages of the prestigious tournament.
However, the side's resurgence under Qatar Sports Investment's leadership is now starting to pay dividends. Laurent Blanc's side are heavily-fancied in the competition, having impressed in the group stage and in a one-sided last 16 clash against Bayer Leverkusen.
On Wednesday, they will face Mourinho's Chelsea ten years after their last European meet-up in 2004. The home game at Parc des Princes was the Portuguese's first in charge of the Blues on the European stage. He remembers it fondly, Didier Drogba (with two goals) and John Terry ensuring a smooth 0-3 win for a side that would eventually fall to Liverpool in the competition's semi-final.
Terry, Cech and Lampard were part of this all-conquering side that won the English Premier League later that season with a record 95 points.
The hosts meanwhile have no player from 2004 left in the side. Many PSG fans even feel amused when reminded of the names filling their squad at the time. The likes of José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan, Charles-Edouard Coridon and Lionel Letizi have simply not cemented their names in footballing history.
In a brutal contrast with the star-studded side that will take to the field on Wednesday, it is now Chelsea who come into this game as the outsiders. Very few Chelsea players, bar perhaps Eden Hazard, can make a case to be included in the PSG starting eleven today.
Several players in the home side, starting from Edinson Cavani, even rebuked approaches from the London club to cross the channel in recent months.
For a side in constant evolution, PSG can boast a more settled starting XI than a Chelsea side pieced together by Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2013. Whilst the Parisians have a well-established front line centered on Ibrahimovic (the competition's second highest scorer with 10 goals), Mourinho still scratches his head over the player who will lead his side going forward.
Samuel Eto'o, who picked up a thigh injury in his side's 6-0 thumping of Arsenal, will be missing on Wednesday. While conspiracy theorists have pointed at his trip to Paris for a show on Qatar-sponsored BeIN Sports as a determining factor in worsening his injury and making him unavailable for the game against QSI-backed PSG.
Beyond this front line quandary, Mourinho is facing the prospect of facing the frightfully prolific Parisian attack (71 goals scored in just 31 Ligue 1 games this season).
The bulk of this PSG side has two years of experience playing together. Chelsea, whilst intermittently impressive, have betrayed their ambitions by falling to low-key Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
In fact, the one place of the pitch where experience plays in Chelsea's favor is the sidelines, with miracle-maker Jose Mourinho, yet to lose a Champions League quarter-final in his career, retaining the ability to pull off a coup against any opponent.
This contest will be decided by Chelsea's ability to shift the tactical battle where they have a comparative advantage : the wings, with free-flowing Eden Hazard expected to make a heavy contribution in his side's argument.
PSG on the other hand will look to secure possession, as they have done in all their games so far in the competition, and build chances from there.
A feeling of quiet confidence could be felt among the Parisian ranks on Wednesday, though no one is daring enough to write off a London side full of talented players.
For both sides, the impression that the best is yet to come (either this season or the next) prevails.
