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After the dramatic UEFA Champions League round of 16 matches on Tuesday, which saw "Liverpool," "Valencia," "Roma," and London's "Chelsea" advance, Wednesday will continue with passion and the remaining four pairs will play the second leg matches.
"Milan" - Glasgow "Celtic (first leg 0-0)
Having gained form recently, "Milan" are considered the clear favorites of this tie. They dominated in the first leg in Glasgow, but neither team was able to score.
Although "Milan" started the season with many injuries and an eight-point deficit, they have had a very difficult start, they have celebrated eight wins in the last ten Italian league matches, and have only conceded one goal in their last four matches.
The last "Milan" rehearsal before these matches was Saturday's match against Verona's "Chievo," which Carlo Ancelotti's team won 2-1.
This match will see Brazilian Ronaldo, who recently joined the team, unable to play, as he had already represented Madrid's "Real" in this tournament. Veteran Filippo Inzaghi will likely form a striker duo with Alberto Gilardino in his place.
The situation is less favorable for "Celtic," where Japanese national team goalkeeper Shunsuke Nakamura will try to play despite a broken hand bone, striker Craig Beattie is fighting against time to recover from an injury, and Polish national team striker Maciej Zurawski will definitely not play due to injury.
Although defender Stephen McManus left the field injured in the 2-1 victory over "Dunfermline" on Saturday, it is expected that he will be able to play against "Milan."
Predicted lineups:
"Milan": Dida; Oddo, Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kaka; Gilardino, Inzaghi
"Celtic": Boruc; Telfer, McManus, O'Dea, Naylor; Nakamura, Sno, Lennon, McGeady; Miller, Vennegoor of Hesselink
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"Arsenal" - Eindhoven's "PSV" (first leg 1-0 in favor of "PSV")
If "Arsenal" fails today, they will be out of the third trophy in just two weeks. At the end of February, they lost in the League Cup final to "Chelsea" and three days later, they were defeated by "Blackburn" in the FA Cup, putting "Arsenal" on the edge in the Champions League since they lost the first leg 1-0 in Eindhoven.
After the defeat to "Chelsea," the Cardiff club received further punishment: three players were disqualified for a fighting incident with the opponents.
For this reason, Togo national team striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Ivory Coast national team defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue will definitely not be able to play in England, but the only good news is that the suspension does not ban all three players from playing in the Champions League. However, E.Eboue twisted his ankle last week, so it is unclear if he will play against "PSV."
It is doubtful whether "Arsenal" captain and forward Thierry Henry can take the field today as he is recovering from a foot injury, and left-back Tomas Rosicky will definitely not play due to strained tendons. Adding the long-time injury sufferer Dutchman Robin van Persie to this list, "Arsenal" faces a very tough match at home.
In the "PSV" camp, defender Manuel Da Costa and another defender, Jan Kromkamp, will not be able to play due to illness.
The team doctors also had to assist goalkeeper Gomes, captain Phillip Cocu, and defenders Alex and Carlos Salcido, but it is believed that they will all be able to play against "Arsenal."
The status of midfielder Ibrahim Afellay is slightly more difficult - it is currently unclear whether he will be able to play.
Predicted lineups:
"Arsenal": Lehmann; Eboue (or Djorou), Toure, Gallas, Clichy; Hleb, Gilberto, Fabregas, Ljungberg; Henry, Adebayor
"PSV": Gomes; Xiang, Alex, Addo, Salcido; Culina, Simons, Mendez, Cocu; Kone, Farfan
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"Man Utd" - "Lille" (first leg 1-0 in favor of "Man Utd")
After two weeks of protests, insults, and appeals, "Man Utd" and "Lille" will finally have a great opportunity to settle all the issues on the field. The English are considered the favorites of this tie, having celebrated victory in the first leg in France thanks to the lone goal by Ryan Giggs.
Both teams secured victories over the weekend: "Man Utd" narrowly defeated "Liverpool" 1-0 in an away match, while "Lille" ended a series of three consecutive defeats with a 4-0 victory over "Troyes."
"Lille" and "Man Utd" have unfinished business from last season: in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, the French club held a 0-0 draw at "Old Trafford" and defeated the English team 1-0 at home, contributing to their elimination from the tournament.
Sir Alex Ferguson will not have the full complement of players for today's match due to injuries to Darren Fletcher and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Louis Saha is also likely unable to play. For Swedish forward Henrik Larsson, this could be his last home match before the end of his loan from "Helsingborg."
Kader Keita, who missed the first match due to disqualification, will return to the field for "Lille." The coach of the French club allowed midfielder Mathieu Bodmer to rest in the weekend matches, while K.Keita and Ludovic Obraniak played only after halftime.
Predicted lineups:
"Man Utd": Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney, Larsson
"Lille": Sylva, Chalme, Tavlaridis, Plestan, Tafforeau; Makoun, Bodmer, Keita; Fauvergue, Obraniak, Odemwingie
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Bayern Munich - Real Madrid (first leg 3-2 in favor of "Real")
In this match, "Bayern" will take to the field with confidence. Not because David Beckham will not play for "Real" due to injury.
After the 3-2 defeat in the first leg, "Bayern" responded with two wins in the German league, which revived hopes of fighting for the championship.
In the 3-2 victory against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, fans were pleased to see the striking duo of Lukas Podolski and Roy Makaay finally beginning to play well. L.Podolski, who had been lackluster since the start of the season, looked like a World Cup player in Saturday's match, scoring a goal and providing assists to R.Makaay and Hasan Salihamidzic.
A 1-0 win for "Bayern" in today's match at the "Allianz" stadium would be enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
The mood is slightly different in the "Real" camp: the Royal club played to a 1-1 draw at home with "Getafe" on Saturday, with D.Beckham and Jose Antonio Reyes suffering injuries in that match. D.Beckham was a true leader for "Real" in the first leg of this tie.
There are some doubts about strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuain, but it is expected that both will recover in time for the match.
"If we play as in the first leg and in the second half of the match against 'Getafe,' we can definitely beat 'Bayern'," said "Real" coach Fabio Capello. "If we work hard - we will progress."
Predicted lineups:
"Bayern": Kahn; Sagnol, Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm; Goerlitz, Hargreaves, van Bommel, Salihamidzic; Makaay, Podolski
"Real": Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro, Helguera, Carlos; Robinho, Diarra, Gago, Raul; Guti, van Nistelrooy
