© EuroFootball.com
On Tuesday, the UEFA Champions League will be back in action - this time, the first two quarter-final matches of the UEFA Champions League will be played. In London's "Highbury" stadium, the "Arsenal" team, who have had a very bumpy season, will host the leader of the Italian championship, Turin's "Juventus", while one of the surprises of the tournament, Lisbon's "Benfica" club, will host the favorites, the "Barcelona" football players, at home.
In the London-Turin matchup, in the quarter-finals of the tournament, "Arsenal" eliminated not just anyone, but the nine-time tournament winner, Madrid's "Real" club. Then, at the Madrid "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, the only goal was scored by the star of the London club, Frenchman Thierry Henry, and the match in the English capital ended goalless.
Meanwhile, "Juventus" advanced to the quarter-finals only thanks to a very bizarre goal by Brazilian Emerson in the last minutes of the match against Bremen's "Werder".
For the first time in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage, "Arsenal" will face an Italian team, while "Juventus" hopes that last year's scenario will not repeat itself, when they lost in the quarter-finals to the later champions, the "Liverpool" football players.
"Arsenal's" hope to achieve victory at home is fueled by the statistics, showing that the London club has won five of the last eight UEFA Champions League matches at the "Highbury" stadium, drawing three. What's more, in eight matches this season, "Arsenal" has conceded only two goals and has not conceded a single goal in six consecutive matches. It is worth mentioning that "Juventus" has not won against English teams away from home since the 1996-1997 season, when they defeated "Manchester United" 1-0 at the "Old Trafford" stadium.
"Arsenal" players will step onto the field knowing that this could be their last UEFA Champions League match at the "Highbury" stadium, as from the next season they will play nearby at the newly built "Emirates" stadium.
The last time "Arsenal" and "Juve" met was in the 2001-2002 season, when they were in the same group in the UEFA Champions League group stage. At that time, "Arsenal" triumphed at home 3-1 - two goals were scored by the Swede Fredrik Ljungberg, while in Italy "Juventus" won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Marcelo Zalayeta.
In these matches, we will definitely not see the star of the Czech national team, Pavel Nedved, in the ranks of "Juventus", as he will be unable to play due to disqualification. It is also highly doubtful whether another team leader, Italian Alessandro Del Piero, who suffered a thigh injury in the Sunday match against "Roma", will appear on the field.
Meanwhile, "Arsenal" did not play in the "Premier" League match against "Portsmouth" on Saturday due to a waterlogged pitch, but the team is not short of injured players - and "gunners" will still be without defenders Lauren and A. Cole, as well as Sol Campbell. The latter had been slowly regaining his form, but during training he suffered a minor finger injury. Freddie Ljungberg, with a calf injury, will also be unable to play, and it is also unclear about Jose Reyes, who has an Achilles tendon injury.
Predicted line-ups:
"Arsenal" (4-4-2): Lehmann; Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini; Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, Reyes; Van Persie, Henry;
"Juventus" (4-4-2): Buffon; Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Thuram, Balzaretti; Camoranesi, Vieira, Emerson, Chiellini; Trezeguet, Ibrahimovic;
In Lisbon -
When "Barcelona" won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for the first and only time, the decisive goal was scored by the legendary Dutchman Ronald Koeman. Now, the former defender leads the Lisbon's "Benfica" team, which has become one of the biggest surprises in this season's UEFA Champions League.
This year, "Benfica" is a team that must be respected. The main proof is the fact that they eliminated the champions, the "Liverpool" football players, from the competition in the quarter-finals.
The two teams have not met each other in over ten years. However, the "Estadio da Luz" is a true fortress for "Benfica": apart from the only defeat 1-0 against "Villarreal", "Benfica" has won eight out of the other ten matches played at home, drawing two.
Meanwhile, "Barcelona" is displaying truly impressive performance and form this year, making them one of the tournament favorites. In the quarter-finals, the Catalans eliminated the English champions, London's "Chelsea" club, and in the group stage, they won five matches and drew one, with a goal difference of 16-2.
In this match, "Barcelona" will have several losses in defense: the team captain Carles Puyol is suspended, and defenders Brazilian Edmilson and Mexican Rafael Marquez are injured. Due to an injury, young Argentine Lionel Messi will also be unable to play, but F. Rijkaard allowed Brazilian Ronaldinho and Portuguese Deco to rest over the weekend.
On the other hand, there are fewer bad news in the "Benfica" camp: the disqualified striker Nuno Gomes and injured defender Alcides will not be able to play. The latter will be replaced in the starting lineup by Nelson.
Predicted line-ups:
"Benfica" (4-4-2): Moretto; Nelson, Luisao, Anderson, Leo; Fernandes, Petis, Geovanni, Robert; Simao, Miccoli;
"Barcelona" (4-3-3): Valdes, Belletti, Rodri, Oleguer, van Bronckhorst; Deco, Motta, van Bommel; Ronaldinho, Larsson (Giuly), Eto`o;
