Tuesday’s knock out Preview

The stage is set for the big games in Europe as anyway eight European giants have to leave the arena and the winners will go to the Quarter finals. The English giants have got slight upper hand over their Spanish and Italian counterparts as Real Madrid need to win the game at Anfield by a margin of 2 goals also Juventus and Roma trailing Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. Barcelona have got the away goal advantage and Inter Milan have got the mountainous task of winning at Old Trafford if they want to progress . Bayern almost made to the next round with their first leg performance .


Juventus vs Chelsea


Chelsea hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago, but Del Piero still believes that can be overturned at the Stadio Olimpico with a repeat of their performance in London and a bit of luck.

"We played well there a fortnight ago," he said. "Chelsea played quite a good game and won, we played a very good game but lost.

"Hopefully we can turn that around tomorrow night.

"We have been particularly looking forward to this game and tomorrow we will have to play the perfect game."

After losing Mohamed Sissoko to a fractured foot at the weekend, coach Claudio Ranieri received even worse news on Monday when he lost central defender Nicolas Legrottaglie to a recurrent knee injury.

"He still has the same problem with his knee," he explained. "He tried to train, but said he could still feel pain. He had never really fully recovered from it in the first place."

Former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg should take his place alongside Giorgio Chiellini at the heart of the Juve defence while Jonathan Zebina has been included in the squad after making his first appearance of the season in the Turin derby at the weekend.

Zdenek Grygera is also back after missing the derby while Del Piero and Amauri should start in attack, but Ranieri is not taking anything for granted.

Guus Hiddink has vowed Chelsea will not sit back and gift Juventus the initiative.

"It's always nice to have a clean sheet," said Hiddink. "That's very important. But if you just wait in the second leg and hope not to concede, willing not to concede a goal and not have any initiative in the game, you will have a lot of problems.

"So, whenever we can, the team must attack. It's in their character. We've not come here just to defend. That would be asking for trouble.

"At this level, it's tight. Our game at Stamford Bridge was tight. Tomorrow it will be too.

"When you are in this period in Europe, I don't want to talk about luck but you have to force luck a little bit."

Hiddink's options have been boosted by the return to fitness of Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Essien was sidelined for six months earlier this season with knee ligament damage but he will be in the 18 on duty against Juventus.

Hiddink will wait until the last moment to decide whether top scorer Nicolas Anelka has recovered sufficiently from his bruised toe or whether midfielder Deco suffers any reaction to his hamstring tear.


Liverpool vs Real Madrid

A bullish Rafael Benitez will send Liverpool into Champions League battle against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
He insists that his side can still win two trophies this season. For boss Benitez, these coming days are the last throw of the dice to rescue Liverpool's season, with the Barclays Premier League seemingly out of reach.

A week ago Benitez was in the depths of depression after the shock defeat at Middlesbrough, coming only days after a stunning 1-0 win in the Bernabeu that sets up Liverpool perfectly for Real's arrival at Anfield.

But now Benitez's demeanour has changed dramatically as he contemplates a week of destiny for Liverpool's future.

In the next five days Liverpool face two of the world's greatest football powers in Real and Manchester United.

Two wins would be the miracle result Benitez craves. The first, completing a last-16 victory over Real, would send Liverpool into the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years.

Benitez determinedly talked up his injury-hit side's chances, saying: "This is a huge week in Liverpool's season.

"We aim to progress in the Champions League. It is so important for the fans and the club, and the money, for Liverpool to reach the quarter-finals.

"Then we have the game at Manchester United. If we win then we can still think about the title; if you cannot do that it will be almost impossible to win the title.

"But we feel we are still in a fantastic position, much better than last season.

"We have been improving and the key is to improve a little more in the next week.

"We can progress in Europe. Why not? We know that we have enough quality and experience in this competition."

Fernando Torres has been back in light training for two days following his ankle injury but it seems highly unlikely he will be risked from the start tomorrow, much as Steven Gerrard was not risked in the Bernabeu until the final minutes.

Alvaro Arbeloa, with a hamstring problem, is critical to Benitez's selection. If the Spain international is not fit, then he may have to play Javier Mascherano at full-back again.

That would unbalance his whole midfield and may force him to play Brazilian youngster Lucas.

He seems certain to be without Yossi Benayoun, the match-winner in Madrid, who has picked up a hamstring injury in training.

Madrid boss Juande Ramos said: "Knowing who will play for Liverpool is not something I can control, but Liverpool do not base their success on one individual and they always have a squad and strength in depth, it is never about just one player.

"We accept that it is tough at this stage, but must deal with it, but we have the quality to go through. This competition is all about bringing out the best in a team."

And he believes that Madrid's impressive recent domestic run, and their fine away form in La Liga, will help them at Anfield.

He said: "Victories breed confidence. The great run of unbeaten away games does give us confidence for this match.

"This is a delightful, delicious game, and it is sad that one great side will be left by the wayside."


Bayern vs Sporting Lisbon


Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann has promised to take their Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon seriously.

That is despite his intention to rest several key players after establishing a comfortable lead in the first leg.

Bayern beat the Portuguese side 5-0 away from home and should complete the job at the Allianz Arena tomorrow, although Klinsmann expects the opposition to be in better shape than a fortnight ago.

"They are a really good team," he said. "The will want to show that what happened in Lisbon was just a one-off.

"They will give it all they have got."

Nevertheless, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is sure his club are certain of being in the last eight.

"I think I can say without sounding arrogant that, before this second leg, our team is as good as guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals," he said.

That practical assurance will allow Klinsmann to make a few alterations and he has confirmed he will give a rest to goalkeeper Michael Rensing and not take any risks on the injured trio of Luca Toni, Franck Ribery and Tim Borowski.

Hamit Altintop is also out of the game after picking up an injury in the 5-1 win over Hannover on Saturday.

Jose Ernesto Sosa and Breno should earn rare starts, although Klinsmann believes the 66,000 fans deserve to see their team at their best.

"It will be a sell-out, it is the Champions League and we have an obligation to the fans to give it our best and offer them a good game," he said.

"I want a really good performance and a team which takes this game seriously.

"We may have one and a half legs in the next round, but we are not fully there yet.

"Those who do play will have to give it everything."

Klinsmann has included Deniz Yilmaz and Thomas Muller in his squad from the reserve team and one of the two forwards could well start.

The Bayern coach has shown a reluctance to play Lukas Podolski recently and his place in the team is far from guaranteed.

Sporting coach Paulo Bento also believes the tie is all but over.

"The outcome is already clear, but we will leave the competition with pride," he said.

Bento could rotate his team even more than Klinsmann since Liedson is out and both midfielders Fabio Rochemback and Leandro Romagnoli have not made the trip to Munich.

Panathinaikos vs Villarreal


Henk Ten Cate believes passion and desire will be the key ingredients required if his Panathinaikos FC side are to see off Villarreal CF and progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League.

Quality
The Greek club are many people's favourites following the impressive 1-1 result they gained in the first leg at El Madrigal, but their Dutch coach insists the first knockout round tie is still delicately balanced. "Both teams have quality, and Villarreal have an extremely strong squad," said Ten Cate, who has main striker Vangelis Mantzios available for the first time since the match in Spain after a knee injury. "We have prepared well and we are at home so we have a good chance to qualify. But we will only do it if we are serious in our approach and play with desire and passion."

Cauldron of passion
A sell-out crowd is anticipated at the OACA Spiros Louis Stadium for what is being billed as the Green Machine versus the Yellow Submarine – and the spicy atmosphere will play a major role in Pana's chances according to Ten Cate. "With the cauldron of passion that our fans will create, I believe we will get the result we want," said the trainer, who will replace suspended defender Giannis Goumas with Polish international Jakub Wawrzyniak. "As always they will be our 12th man. With those supporters behind us the team is capable of great things."

Challenge
Panathinaikos are one game away from equalling their longest unbeaten run in the competition after going five matches without defeat, and they are also in good domestic form having overcome Larissa FC 3-0 on Saturday to maintain second spot in the Super League. Ten Cate threw the gauntlet down to opposite number Manuel Pellegrini, saying: "After the first leg the Spanish press wrote that Villarreal had not played better all season. Well, now they have to play even better if they want to beat us. We will play to win as always, but we know a goalless draw will take us through."

'No favourites'
Pellegrini, who welcomes back Joan Capdevila from suspension, sounded an equally confident note, explaining how his side can turn the tie around. "I don't think either team can be considered favourites," he said. "Panathinaikos have the away goal but we will go for the win. If we can control as much possession as we did in the first game, and convert more of the many chances we always create, then we can get the right result."

Winning form
Villarreal consolidated fourth place in the Spanish Liga with a 1-0 win against RCD Espanyol on Saturday and are unbeaten in six outings. Midfielder Ariel Ibagaza caught the eye against Espanyol, but is expected only to make the bench as Robert Pirès was rested with this match in mind. Despite Giorgos Karagounis's influential display in the first leg, Pellegrini said he will not be making special plans to contain the Greece schemer. "We have not singled out any players," he concluded. "Panathinaikos have good players all over the park and we have to account for all of them, not just focus on one particular individual."