LONDON -- Guus Hiddink insists that Eden Hazard must show what he is capable of when Chelsea look to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Hazard endured a difficult night in last month's clash at Parc des Princes, failing to make a decisive impact before being substituted for Oscar in the 71st minute. John Obi Mikel cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic's deflected free-kick opener in the first half before substitute Edinson Cavani netted a late winner for PSG.
It was only Hazard's third start since recovering from a groin injury that had sidelined him for three weeks of January, but sympathy among Chelsea supporters for the Belgian was limited due to an interview published by Le Parisien on the eve of the match in which he refused to rule out the possibility of a summer move to PSG or Real Madrid.
Hazard claimed the PFA Player of the Year award last season, registering 14 goals and nine assists to fire Chelsea to their first Premier League title in five years, but has netted just twice in 37 appearances in all competitions as the Blues have endured a disastrous campaign this term.
Hiddink believes that Hazard's lack of sharpness at the time explains his underwhelming performance at Parc des Princes, but has challenged the winger to produce his very best when PSG come to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
"When he was playing away in Paris, he was in that period just coming back from a rather severe injury which we could not ask him to be top fit, game fit," Hiddink said of Hazard. "He had two or three actions that looked like Hazard.
"Now we are some weeks further into the league and game fitness and, of course, he can and must show tomorrow what he's capable of."
Chelsea will face PSG without injured captain John Terry but Hiddink confirmed that Pedro Rodriguez will be available after training with the rest of the squad at Cobham on Tuesday, while Diego Costa is expected to lead the line after being rested for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke City due to a "minor tendon injury."
PSG manager Laurent Blanc declared that he will warn his defenders not to respond to Costa's "provocation" during Wednesday's match, but Hiddink insists he is happy with the way the Spain international has performed since his return to Stamford Bridge on an interim basis in December.
"He has behaved very well [for me] and I'm very proud of him and the way he's playing, and what he did," Hiddink said when asked to respond to Blanc's comments. "He's not going over the edge, but he likes to fight in the real way of the game, and that's what we like. I protect him and support him when he's doing what he's done in my period at Chelsea."
PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he will not be out for revenge when he returns to Stamford Bridge despite being sent off during last year's corresponding Champions League clash, but Chelsea defender Gary Cahill believes he will have to be on high alert when battling the Swede.
"First and foremost he's a top player, a top player, one that can be very dangerous on his day," Cahill said of Ibrahimovic. "Revenge? I don't know. Obviously for him [the red card] was unfortunate the last time round, although for his team it was positive because they went through.
"We've played PSG the last two years and we've knocked each other out. This tie is set up perfectly for the third time. Zlatan is very vocal on the pitch and liked the sound of his own voice in the first game, but he's a top player and one we have to look out for."