PSG head French assault

Paris SG lead the French charge in the UEFA Cup tonight, one of 16 teams left in the competition who will all feel that the trophy is within their grasp after the shocks of the previous round.

Pre-tournament favourites Milan were sent packing by Werder Bremen, while big guns Fiorentina, Valencia and England's Tottenham and Aston Villa all fell by the wayside.

PSG booked their place in the round of 16 with a convincing 5-1 aggregate victory over Wolfsburg, while fellow Ligue 1 sides Marseille and St Etienne are also bidding for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Parisians welcome Portugal's Braga to the Parc des Princes this evening, buoyed by a resurgence in domestic form that has seen them close to within one point of league leaders Lyon.

Marseille host Ajax after seeing off FC Twente in a keenly contested tie that took 210 minutes and 13 penalties to separate the sides.

St Etienne, meanwhile, produced one of the surprise results of the last round by knocking out Greek champions Olympiakos 5-2 on aggregate.

They travel to Bremen and will hope their European form continues to belie the fact that they are only one place above the Ligue 1 relegation zone.

If this season's UEFA Cup has been memorable for France it has so far been a tournament to forget for England.

Manchester City are the sole surviving Premier League team in the competition as Everton and Portsmouth were already eliminated before the knockout phase.

City take on Danish side Aalborg with coach Mark Hughes knowing the UEFA Cup may represent his best chance of placating owners Abu Dhabi United Group, who have yet to see any real return on the investment they have ploughed into the club since their big-money takeover in September.

"The longer we stay in Europe, the more our name is lingering around, and the more people will think that City are actually quite a decent side," captain Richard Dunne said.

"We want this UEFA Cup run to continue. It's in our hands, and we feel with the draw that we've got a chance of progressing."

In the night's other matches, holders Zenit St Petersburg travel to Italy to face Udinese, while CSKA Moscow host Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine.

Dynamo Kiev and FC Metalist Kharkiv will do battle for Ukrainian bragging rights in Kiev, while Turkish champions Galatasaray visit German side Hamburg.

Today - Last 16, first legs

CSKA Moscow vs S. Donetsk

D. Kiev vs Metalist Kharkiv

Hamburg vs Galatasaray

Man. City vs AaB Aalborg

Marseille vs Ajax

Paris SG vs Braga

Udinese vs Zenit SP

Werder Bremen vs St Etienne