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On Tuesday, the first two participants of the Champions League quarter-finals will be determined.
London's "Arsenal" - "Milan" (first leg 0-4) Time: Tuesday, 21.40 Stadium: "Emirates", London (England) Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia) Broadcast: "Viasat Sport Baltic" (live)
"Arsenal" will try to perform a miracle and break into the Champions League quarter-finals, even though they lost the first match in Milan to the local "Milan" by a score of 0-4.
If successful, the team led by Arsene Wenger would become only the fourth in the tournament's history to overcome such a deficit. Their ambitions are somewhat dampened by the fact that the last time this happened was 17 years ago.
However, "Arsenal" has recently delighted fans with excellent results: a resounding 5-2 victory over London's "Tottenham" and a 2-1 win over "Liverpool" in the Premier League. It is worth noting that in the derby against the capital, "Gunners" scored five goals in just 30 minutes - a similar task awaits them on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, "Milan" has no intention of backing down and has much to say on its part: the Italian club has not lost in five consecutive matches and currently leads the national championship.
"We want the impossible mission to become possible - that is our goal," said Wenger. "You have to believe and think that it is possible, because football is an unpredictable sport.
"Perhaps I will change a few of the starting eleven players, so we will try to push and score goals. We have nothing to lose. If we show the same character as against "Tottenham", then certainly not everything is lost."
The fans' eyes will first turn to Robin van Persie, who has already scored 31 goals this season. But on the other side of the field, "Arsenal" defenders will have trouble with "Milan" star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored three times against the "Palermo" goalkeeper over the weekend, helping to celebrate a 4-0 victory.
"Milan" coach Massimo Allegri did not rush to rejoice in a ticket to the next stage: "I hope that the team will accept a new challenge even stronger than in the first match. It won't be easy, although we have a significant advantage."
Allegri emphasized that "Arsenal" must not skimp on money for top-class players if they want to return to the European elite.
"I believe that winning the Champions League is impossible if you don't buy the best players," he said. "Without them, neither 'Arsenal', nor 'Milan', nor any other club will succeed. My team is capable and has three key players: experienced, with character, technical abilities, and leadership qualities."
Lisbon's "Benfica" - St. Petersburg's "Zenit" (first leg 2-3) Time: Tuesday, 21.40 Stadium: "Estadio da Luz", Lisbon (Portugal) Referee: Howard Webb (England) Broadcast: TV6 (live)
"Benfica" not only lost the first leg of the eighth-final to "Zenit" 2-3 on February 15 but also fell into a deep hole from which they have so far failed to dig themselves out - Jorge Jesus' pupils have not won four matches in a row, and over the weekend they lost 2-3 in a crucial game against "Porto".
"We need to move forward because we are currently in a not bad situation and can eliminate 'Zenit'," said Jesus. "We will see if the players can recover because they don't think they deserved to lose in Russia."
And he added: "To restore confidence, we need victories. In the last four games, we played equally and lost three times, so the situation is not easy, but that's life."
Portuguese can at least rely on the fact that they have excelled at home in European cup competitions: out of the last 19 matches, they have won 15 and lost only once. The highest hopes are placed on Paraguayan forward Oscar Cardozo, who is the top scorer for "Benfica," as well as Argentine midfielder Pablo Aimar. However, defender Ezequiel Garay will be missing due to a knee injury.
