Portuguese test for PSG's Pauleta

Paris Saint-Germain FC striker Pauleta can renew home ties as his side take on Portuguese giants SL Benfica in the UEFA Cup Round of 16.

• The two sides have never met in European competition.

• Having won through to the knockout stages with a second-placed finish in Group G, PSG made comfortable progress to the Round of 16, beating AEK Athens FC 2-0 both home and away in the previous round. They changed coaches midway through the campaign with Paul Le Guen taking over from Guy Lacombe.

• Benfica parachuted into the UEFA Cup Round of 32 after finishing third behind Manchester United FC and Celtic FC in UEFA Champions League Group F. They then ousted Romanian side FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti, winning 1-0 in Lisbon and triumphing 2-1 in Bucharest.

• PSG forward Pauleta may feel the bonds of his loyalty being stretched as he comes up against a number of his Portuguese international team-mates at Benfica. He has not played club football in Portugal for over a decade but 47 goals in 88 international appearances are proof of his commitment to his home country.

• Nonetheless, sentiment played little part in his only previous appearances against Portuguese opposition. PSG were pooled against FC Porto in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League, with Pauleta scoring in a 2-0 win in Paris and then playing in a 0-0 draw back in Portugal.

• Those games represent PSG's only previous competitive meetings with teams from Portugal.

• Le Guen previously took on Portuguese opposition in the form of Porto in his time as Olympique Lyonnais coach. His side lost 2-0 away in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, drawing 2-2 in the return. José Mourinho's side went on to win the competition.

• Benfica coach Fernando Santos faced French opposition with two of his previous sides. His Porto team won 3-1 at home and then lost 2-1 away against FC Nantes Atlantique in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup fourth round. His AEK team then lost 2-1 at home against LOSC Lille Métropole in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Benfica have met French opponents in five previous knockout ties - winning three and losing two - and were also pooled with LOSC Lille Métropole in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage. In 12 individual games against French sides, the Eagles's record reads, won five, drawn four and lost three.

• Benfica's last trip to Paris, for the game against Lille on 22 November 2005, was played at the Stade de France. The stadium was full to bursting, with a huge Portuguese presence contributing to a record attendance in excess of 76,000 for a French club in Europe.

• The second leg will be played in Lisbon on 15 March. The winners of the tie will enter the draw for the final rounds of the competition in Glasgow on Friday 16 March. No teams will be seeded in the draw and, for the first time in this season's competition, teams from the same national association may be drawn against each other.