Holders Manchester United's tie with Inter Milan is the
most precariously balanced as the big four English teams bid to
reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the second year in
succession.
United were held 0-0 in Milan in the first leg last month
whereas Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all hold 1-0 leads. Alex
Ferguson's side beat Inter 3-1 on aggregate en route to their
Champions League success in 1999 but an away goal at Old Trafford
on Wednesday would put the Italian champions through in case of a
score draw.
United's impressive defensive record will be put to the test as
injuries might force manager Alex Ferguson to field a makeshift
back four but he will be relieved that Nemanja Vidic is available
after missing the first leg through suspension.
He may be tempted to field Carlos Tevez from the start after the
Argentine striker's two-goal performance in United's 4-0 FA Cup win
at Fulham on Saturday.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho also has injury worries in defence but
will welcome the return to form of strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and
Mario Balotelli, who both scored in Saturday's 2-0 win at
Genoa.
Last season's runners-up Chelsea will fancy their chances of
eliminating twice champions Juventus in Turin on Tuesday after a
Didier Drogba goal gave them the edge in the first leg at Stamford
Bridge.
The Ivorian, who has scored three goals in his last four games,
won praise from Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink for his work ethic,
having fallen out with the Dutchman's predecessor Luiz Felipe
Scolari over the same issue.
"From the first day when I have seen him, Drogba was a guy that
was working hard," Hiddink said after Drogba scored in the 2-0 win
at Coventry that put Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.
While Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Michael Essien
and Ricardo Carvalho, Juventus will sorely miss midfielder Mohammed
Sissoko, who broke a foot in Saturday's 1-0 win over city foes
Torino.
Arsenal, runners-up in 2006, take a 1-0 lead to Rome for their
meeting with AS Roma on Wednesday following a 3-0 FA Cup victory
over Burnley on Sunday.
Liverpool, who won Europe's premier club competition for the
fifth time in 2005, had a weekend off as they prepared to defend
their 1-0 lead against nine-times winners Real Madrid at Anfield on
Tuesday.
Real's rekindled Spanish title hopes suffered a setback on
Saturday when a 1-1 draw with city rivals Atletico left them six
points behind leaders Barcelona and once again exposed their
defensive frailties, only poor finishing from Atletico denying the
visitors a win at the Bernabeu.
Atletico will need the lethal finishing of Uruguay's Diego
Forlan and his Argentine strike partner Sergio Aguero if they are
to eliminate 2004 winners Porto following a 2-2 first-leg draw in
Spain.
The South American hitmen have scored 30 league goals between
them this season, including the last five in a 4-3 home win over
Barcelona and the draw with Real.
Barcelona ended a patchy run of form with a 2-0 league win over
Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and are favourites to go through after
a 1-1 first-leg draw at Olympique Lyon.
Bayern Munich are virtually assured of a berth in the last eight
after a 5-0 first-leg win against Sporting in Lisbon.
Panathinaikos host Villarreal with the slender advantage of an
away goal after a 1-1 draw against the 2006 semi-finalists in the
first leg.
