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On Wednesday, two more UEFA Champions League round of 16 matches will take place - in an intriguing clash, London's Arsenal will host Barcelona, while Roma will face Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arsenal - Barcelona
In tonight's game, Arsenal should feature Samir Nasri, who has been included in the squad, as well as Tomas Rosicky, but Abou Diaby has been ruled out.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes that the 2-0 win in the English championship against Wolverhampton will inspire the team: "Now we are in better form than last year when we played against Barcelona. - Then we had several injured players, some were not 100% ready. Also, we are more mature now.
However, it must be recognized that Barcelona is even stronger than before. Still, we can be a serious challenge to them."
Meanwhile, the Catalans, who will have to cope without injured main defender Carles Puyol, arrive in London having dropped two points in the Spanish championship against Sporting Gijon - the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
"We need to recover against Arsenal," said Pep Guardiola. - It's not the team's fault - you just have to be ready to play every three days. It's not easy, but in sports you need to adapt.
"We may lose in the Champions League, in the national championship, or in the King's Cup tournament, but the most important thing is that we fight until the end."
Roma - Shakhtar
Roma will host the Ukrainians at home, but will be without injured forward Marco Borriello. Doni will guard the goal, replacing the also unavailable Julio Sergio, while midfielder David Pizarro will rest due to knee problems.
Injuries are not the only problem for Roma. There are rumors that if the game worsens, coach Claudio Ranieri may lose his job.
The coach himself reassured: "A coach is like a man in a marriage - he often finds out about important things last. But my team supports me. Three or four months ago I asked them: do you have any problems with me, because if you do, I will leave. They said no, so I stayed."
Shakhtar will play without Fernandinho and Aleksandar Kucher, but they arrive in Rome full of optimism that they can win.
However, the Ukrainian champions have not played official matches since December, as there has been a break in the national championship since November.
"It's hard to start playing again after a two-month break," admitted coach Mircea Lucescu. - We last played on December 8 against Braga. We played great then, but we have been on vacation for a long time. It's difficult to maintain your fitness over such a long period.
"Roma" is not used to losing three matches in a row, as, probably, their recent draw with "Brescia" is equal to a loss. We will be better organized tactically, even though the opponents have good players."
