Today, two more Champions League quarter-final matches will be played, with football fans delighted by the clashes between "Zenit" and "Benfica" and "Chelsea" and "Paris Saint-Germain". The visiting teams, "Benfica" and "Paris Saint-Germain", have only a one-goal advantage at home, so the return matches promise to be fierce and unpredictable battles. As the matches in Russia will start almost three hours earlier than usual in the Champions League, television viewers will have a great opportunity to enjoy football and watch both Wednesday matches live. "Zenit" - "Benfica" Match start - 19:00. In the first leg in Portugal, until the final moments of the match, both teams had not scored any goals, and just when it seemed like the game would end scoreless, Jonas scored a goal in added time, giving his team, "Benfica", a minimal victory. However, now the "Benfica" players face an away match, where Andre Villas-Boas's students will aim to become the first Russian team since the 2010 "CSKA" team to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. "Reaching the quarter-finals is our dream. We will have an advantage against our opponents in this match - our own fans," said the "Zenit" coach. The "Zenit" team should be assisted not only by their own field, fan support, and the low temperature they are more accustomed to, but also by the opponent's defensive problems. The "Benfica" team will be missing not only the injured goalkeeper Julio Cesar but also three central defenders. Luisao and Lisandro Lopez are injured, and Jardel will miss the match due to disqualification, leaving only one real central defender in the team - Victor Lindelof. The 21-year-old Swede was playing in the reserve team until January, but then he was not only called up to the first "Benfica" team but also became a starting player due to two injured central defenders. In the first leg, Jardel received his third yellow card this year in the Champions League, so in the match in Russia, Lindelof and the makeshift central defenders, whose ranks have also been depleted due to Andre Almeida's disqualification, will form the central defensive duo. The "Zenit" team also has two suspended players - Domenico Criscito, who received a red card, and Javi Garcia, who reached the yellow card limit. Ezequiel Garay, who has been recovering from a minor injury recently, will be ready for these matches, so the Russian team will only be missing Victor Fayzulin, who suffered a serious knee injury back in September. Key facts for this match: "Benfica" did not concede a goal in the first leg for the second time this season in the Champions League, maintaining a "clean sheet" in their goal. Meanwhile, this was the first time the "Zenit" team remained goalless in the Champions League; Having won five consecutive matches in the group stages, the "Zenit" team could become only the sixth team to win all six group stage matches, but in the last match, they lost to "Gent"; "Zenit" has never lost to a Portuguese team at home and has achieved victory five times; The Russian champions have never participated in a penalty shoot-out in UEFA competitions; "Benfica" won in Russia only once in seven previous meetings, while they suffered defeats in four of these matches; Their only victory was over 20 years ago when they beat Moscow's "Lokomotiv" 3-2 in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. "Chelsea" - "Paris Saint-Germain" Match start - 21:45. Although "Paris Saint-Germain" won the first leg, the match in Paris was much more intense than most fans of the French team expected. Although Zlatan Ibrahimovic put his team ahead in the 39th minute, John Obi Mikel equalized the score in added time of the first half. The score remained level until the 78th minute when Edison Cavani scored a goal just four minutes after appearing on the field, giving PSG a slight advantage to take to the match in England. The hosts will still be without two central defenders - Kurt Zouma and John Terry. While the former has suffered a serious injury and will not appear on the field this season, the seriousness of Terry's injury and the time needed for him to recover are still uncertain. "As a player, it hurts not to be included in these matches, but sometimes you have to allow your injury to fully heal," said the defender who has not played for almost a month. Nemanja Matic, who was suspended for the first leg, has already served his suspension and will be able to help the "Chelsea" team in today's match. However, there are still doubts about the availability of two other "Chelsea" players. Diego Costa, who missed last weekend's Premier League match, should be ready for the Wednesday match, but Pedro, who has already returned to the team's training, may still not be available. "Paris Saint-Germain" definitely has no complaints before this match. Despite not winning in the French championship for two consecutive matches, the club still leads their closest rivals by 23 points, so there is no doubt that PSG will once again win the Ligue 1 championship. The calmness in the French championship allows Laurent Blanc to rest his leaders, which also contributes to the fact that there are no injured players in the "Paris Saint-Germain" squad. However, the team will definitely not be helped by Serge Aurier, who insulted his teammates and coach on social media. Key facts for this match: "Chelsea" has reached the Champions League knockout stage for the twelfth time in the last thirteen seasons, and they have reached the quarter-final stage eight times; The "Blues" have not lost at home in 22 consecutive Champions League matches. The last time they remained goalless at home was in April 2011, against "Manchester United"; 57% of all "Chelsea" goals in this season's Champions League were scored from set-pieces (8 out of 14). No other team in the Champions League knockout phase has scored as often from set-pieces; In the last 15 Champions League matches, Diego Costa has scored only once - against Tel Aviv's "Maccabi" in September 2015; PSG has reached the Champions League knockout stage for the fourth consecutive year this season - their best achievement in the club's history. In the last three years, they have been eliminated in the quarter-finals; "Paris Saint-Germain" has failed to score in five of their last seven matches in England. However, the only match in this series in which they managed to score was against "Chelsea" in last year's Champions League; PSG has conceded only two goals in seven matches this season in the Champions League; The French champions have not conceded a goal in the second half of this year's Champions League; "Chelsea" and PSG are meeting in the Champions League knockout stages for the third year in a row. "Chelsea" won in 2013-2014, while PSG celebrated the victory in the 2014-2015 season.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
