Laurent Blanc hopes the disastrous build-up his Paris Saint-Germain team have endured will work in their favour in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg with Chelsea.
Blanc saw his side pass up the opportunity to move top of the Ligue 1 table as they conceded twice in the last three minutes to draw 2-2 at home with Caen on Saturday.
The French champions ended the game with nine men due to a number of injuries, with three of the victims -- Serge Aurier, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Moura -- all missing Tuesday's clash.
Further doubts persist over Marquinhos, who was forced off early against Caen, while the fitness of Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi will be assessed following PSG's final training session on Monday afternoon.
"I would have liked to have prepared in other circumstances in terms of the injuries," Blanc told media at his prematch news conference.
"When things go against you, you try to see the positive. It could bring the team together, strengthen the bond between the players and the staff and the medical staff -- who are really being tested right now -- and the fans.
"The fans need to understand that we're struggling with the squad now. I hope that chemistry will be there tomorrow as we're up against a really good team."
Blanc saw his side win 3-1 in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Chelsea last season, only to succumb to a late Demba Ba goal in the return game that took Jose Mourinho's men through to the last four.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed the game at Stamford Bridge after limping out of the first leg with an injury.
Blanc admitted he needed his striker, who is often criticised for failing to deliver in big matches, to be on top form if PSG are to avenge that defeat.
"I think the two coaches will expect a lot from their teams, and a lot from the leaders of their teams," he said. "In big matches it's great players and great leaders who lift teams, and even more so when you're a goalscorer like him. I expect a lot from him, but also from all the players.
"We must want to score, and defend well. I think it'll be the same for Jose. He must expect a lot from Eden Hazard, because he can destabilise a whole defence on his own. There will be great players on the pitch. Ibra has to be among the players that will be very determined -- that won't be a problem, they will all be -- but also clinical."
While PSG have struggled domestically this season, Chelsea have been in impressive form in the Premier League.
However, David Luiz, who moved from Stamford Bridge to the French capital last summer, believes there is little to separate the two clubs.
"I think they're at the same level. It is only small details that will make the difference," said Luiz, who won both the Champions League and Europa League in a three-and-a-half-year spell in England.
"Chelsea have won two European titles [recently], but I think the PSG project is to be the best club in the world in a few years, and we try to improve every day. I think in this game, there is no gap. There are two amazing teams, some great players and two great coaches."
Mourinho suggested Luiz would not be missed when he decided to leave Chelsea.
But the PSG defender, who will be paired with compatriot Thiago Silva at the Parc des Princes, insisted he had nothing to prove to his former boss.
"It's difficult when you lose a player for a big game, and when you lose more than one, it's even more difficult. We have amazing players for this game though, and we need to prove our quality for ourselves, not for other people," said Luiz, who -- when asked to compare Blanc with Mourinho -- replied: "They're both ugly!"