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On Wednesday, our attention will be focused on two more Champions League round of 16 matches, where we will see clubs from Italy, England, Russia, and Portugal.
"Milan" - London "Arsenal"
Stadium: San Siro, Milan (Italy)
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Time: 21:45 Lithuanian time
Broadcast: TV6 (live)
"Milan" is currently leading the Italian championship due to playing more matches, but their recent results have not been impressive: they broke a series of three consecutive losses with an unconvincing 2-1 victory over "Udinese."
Coach Massimo Allegri will have a headache as defender Alessandro Nestos and forward Alexandre Pato will not be on the field. However, experienced goalkeeper Mark van Bommel and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic are in the lineup.
"We will need to play very intensively, otherwise we will give our opponents opportunities to counter-attack and exploit their best quality," said Allegri. "Opponents are very fast, especially if we leave spaces."
He added: "Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry pose a particularly big threat. We must take good care of them, but we cannot forget that "Arsenal" is a team that is the biggest threat to everyone."
London "Arsenal" traveling to Milan is significant not only for the Champions League, but also because it will be the last match for the legendary Thierry Henry who spent several weeks with the team. The veteran will return to the United States to represent the New York Red Bulls.
The Frenchman, who has appeared in six matches, scored three goals and once again proved that he is considered one of the most talented European forwards of recent years.
"I'm not thinking about saying goodbye, I just want to help Arsenal. I am a player of this team for one more game. And Milan is Milan. It's never easy to win away in this tournament," Henry said.
Meanwhile, Wenger was concerned about the condition of the pitch: "The wind is bothering me a bit - it doesn't look particularly good, but I hope the situation will improve by the match. I was told it will be better tomorrow.
"When the pitch is being re-sodded, it takes some time for the grass to become even. It's not like that now. Nevertheless, we will try to play our football and attack. It will be a great match."
The English club will play without the injured defender Per Mertesacker, while Jack Wilshere, Andre Santos, Abou Diaby and Carl Jenkinson are also facing problems.
Gervinho will also likely be absent, as he only finished competing in the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Saint Petersburg "Zenit" - Lisbon "Benfica"
Stadium: "Petrovskiy," Saint Petersburg, Russia
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Time: 19:00 Lithuanian time
Saint Petersburg "Zenit" coach Luciano Spalletti is confident that his team will not be defeated by an extended list of injured players and will overcome Lisbon "Benfica."
Recently sidelined for eight months, Danny and injured by food poisoning Domenico Criscito will not be on the field, while Aleksandr Bukharov and Darko Lazovic will also not appear. This does not scare Spalletti, who said: "Injuries will not affect us - we want to step on the field and compete. It will likely be cold tomorrow, but not for those running on the grass. After all, this is a sport played in any weather, and true winners adapt to the situation."
About the opponents, the specialist said: "When the pitch condition is not the best, a technical team has an advantage, as some game elements need to be executed more precisely. Benfica in this aspect is probably stronger than us. However, we want to win the match and show character, rewriting Zenit's history."
Interestingly, due to the winter break in the national championship, the Russian club will only play their next match on March 3. In the standings, the Saint Petersburg team is the sole leader, ahead of Moscow's CSKA by six points.
However, "Benfica" is not to be underestimated, as they will be without the heavily injured defender Javi Garcia. The Portuguese should be encouraged by the fact that they have lost only once in their last nine European cup matches. In addition, the team has celebrated 11 consecutive victories.
"Zenit" has not played this year yet, but we have analyzed several recent matches in the Russian championship, as well as used technologies for trend analysis," said coach Jorge Jesus. "I don't believe that opponents' injuries will change the situation.
"We respect our opponents, but we want to be in the quarterfinals. Of course, the winner will be determined in two matches, but we want to win the first one."
