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The great football returns - the UEFA Champions League round of 16 stage will start on Tuesday. Defending champions "Barcelona" will go up against Leverkusen's "Bayer" away, as well as the surprising Apoel of Nicosia, who will try to overcome the barrier of "Lyon". Leverkusen "Bayer" - "Barcelona" Stadium: "Bay Arena", Leverkusen (Germany) Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland) (live broadcast from 21.35 on TV6) The powerful Catalans have complicated their situation in the Spanish championship, where after this weekend they are already ten points behind the leader, Madrid's "Real". Coach Pep Guardiola mentioned that every effort will be made to defend the title of Europe's strongest club, as the prospects in domestic competitions are bleak. "Barcelona" is considered the favorite in this tie not only because of its name but also because of the statistics: this team has not lost in seven away matches in Germany (4 wins, 3 draws). However, the head-to-head record against "Bayer" is not so impressive: three wins, two losses, and one draw. "Bayer" will aim to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 - in that season, the Germans reached the final, but lost to Madrid's "Real". This will need to be done without defender Michael Ballack, who has suffered a calf injury. Also, the top scorers Eren Derdiyok and Sidney Sam will not be able to play. On the other hand, defender Danny da Costa is returning to the lineup after a minor injury in training. Sergio Busquets, who has not played since the beginning of February, is back in Barcelona's squad. The trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Cesc Fabregas will also be seen on the field, as they started the weekend's lost match against Pamplona's "Osasuna" on the bench. Probable starting lineups: "Bayer": Leno; Corluka, Schwaab, Friedrich, Kadlec; Castro, Reinartz, Rolfes; Bender; Kiessling, Schurrle; "Barcelona": Valdes; Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal; Xavi, Mascherano, Iniesta; Fabregas, Messi, Sanchez; "Lyon" - Apoel Nicosia Stadium: "Stade de Gerland", Lyon (France) Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy) (live broadcast from 21.40 on Viasat Sport Baltic) In the last group stage match, Lyon crushed Zagreb's "Dinamo" 7-1 and reached the round of 16 for the ninth consecutive season. They will face Apoel Nicosia, who are considered underdogs despite proving their strength by topping Group G ahead of clubs like Zenit St. Petersburg, Porto, and Shakhtar Donetsk. Apoel should have hope as Lyon has only advanced past this stage once in the last five years. However, Lyon has only stumbled in the round of 16 at home once - in the 2006-2007 season, they lost to Roma. Apoel, the first Cypriot club in the round of 16 in the league's history, played all three group stage matches to a draw and conceded only three goals in six matches, including the qualifying rounds. Coach Ivan Jovanovic will have all players available, as injuries do not plague the team. Meanwhile, Lyon's mood is not the best, as they shockingly lost to Caen on Saturday. It is believed that Kim Kallstrom will return to the starting lineup, while Dejan Lovren, who is injured, will likely be replaced by Samuel Umtiti. Probable starting lineups: "Lyon": Lloris; Revelliere, Kone, Umtiti, Cissokho; Briand, Gonalons, Kallstrom, Bastos; Lisandro Lopez, Gomis; APOEL Chiotis; Poursaitidis, Jorge, Kaka, Oliveira; Morais, Pinto; Charalambidis, Marcinho, Manduca; Ailton;
