Via FoxSoccerChannel.com
The first two quarterfinalists for this season’s Champions League will be decided on Tuesday as Arsenal travel to Barcelona in the day’s marquee match, while AS Roma try to overcome Shakhtar Dontesk in the Ukraine. Play continues Wednesday with Tottenham taking on AC Milan and Schalke squaring off against Valencia.
BARCELONA vs. ARSENAL (Arsenal have a 2-1 lead; Barcelona have an away goal.)
One looks like world-beaters; the other looks simply beaten down. And yet, here we are: an unconvincing Arsenal side has a chance to stage a monumental upset against a team that is the consensus world’s best.
Arsenal seem to have a gift for self-immolation, first gifting Birmingham the Carling Cup 2-1 at Wembley thanks to a horrible defensive mixup, then misfiring Saturday against Sunderland, 0-0, to allow the stumbling Manchester United some breathing space in the tightening Premier League race. The Gunners are wracked by injuries, but more worrying is their mental frailty; whenever this team is put into a pressure situation, they collapse.
Those injuries are a major factor: Missing from the London club's cast will be key hard man Alex Song and fleet winger Theo Walcott, adding to a casualty list that also will keep first-choice keeper Lukas Fabianski and central defender Thomas Vermaelen from making the trip to Spain. Arsenal may also field two fragile and questionable players on the day, with Robin van Persie named in the squad despite a knee injury and Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) rated as probable.
Both men are vital: with van Persie, Arsenal has a creative attacker willing to drive the area; with Cesc, the field opens up and the team acquires a cutting edge. While Samir Nasri has been a revelation this season, too often he has been left stranded by middling performances from his counterparts. Andrei Arshavin finally seems to have snapped to life, but Jack Wilshere is showing the strain of his first full season at the top level while Tomas Rosicky and Denilson have been miserable.
Barcelona are, by comparison, the picture of health, but they will be affected by two absences in the back: Carlos Puyol has not recovered from a knee injury and and Gerard Pique is suspended. Manager Pep Guardiola is also ailing; he is suffering from a herniated disc and spent time in hospital last week.
The Catalans are still in cruise control in La Liga, but have looked of late as if the long season is finally catching up with them a bit. They have won four straight since their upset at the Emirates three weeks ago, but are not showing the vision and pinpoint passing that has been their hallmark. This weekend, Barcelona struggled to get past a weak Real Zaragoza side, finally finding a breakthrough behind Seydou Keita.
Arsenal cannot afford to sit back and defend, simply because they are incapable of it. They are vulnerable on set-pieces and vulnerable to giving away a bad goal at any moment. And yet, they are also consistent: In their last eleven Premier league games, they’ve won seven and drawn four, showing that they have some staying power despite their flaws.
But their central tandem of Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny is certain to be tested by the push-pull of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and David Villa, four of the most fearsome attackers in the game. Biggest question mark? 'Keeper Wojciech Szczesny: the 20-year old Pole must recover from his gaffe at Wembley and produce a big-game performance for the Londoners to have a chance.
SHAKTHAR DONETSK vs. ROMA (Shakhtar lead 3-2 and have three away goals.)
The home of the best LIVE soccer and rugby awaits atFoxSoccer.tv -- don't miss a second of the action.The last meeting between the two sides led Roma manager Claudio Ranieri to walk out. Now new Roma manager Vincenzo Montella is riding a small unbeaten streak and looks to spring a smash and grab against a notoriously unforgiving side.
Shakthar haven’t lost a match since they moved to Donbass Arena in August 2009, but there is a big gap in their resume: Against Italian opposition at home, they lost five of six, with but a single win. (The exception? Roma.)
There is a big difference between the sides in terms of their match-fitness, however: the Ukrainian season has just re-started after the winter break, and Shakhtar looked lethargic in their first game back, a 1-0 win over bottom-feeders Sevastopol. Roma, on the other hand, seems reborn since Ranieri’s departure, but it is worth noting that their recent run has come against middling opposition: Lecce, Parma and Bologna are bottom-half teams.
Both teams are depleted through injury and suspension: Roma's Jeremy Menez and Marco Casetti are suspended; Shakhtar must make due without the injured Olexandr Kucher and Fernandinho.
Shakthar’s Brazilian corps could be the key to the game: Douglas Costa, Jadson, Willian and Luiz Adriano are all expected to start with captain Darijo Srna pulling the strings alongside Razvan Rat. Defense was a liability for them in Rome; they won the game then with a magnificent 12-minute spell after conceding a soft goal.
Roma must get a lot out of Marco Borriello, their talisman this season, and cannot afford to make the mistakes they did last time out, when a botched clearance and a howler by John Arne Riise led to two quick goals.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League and the Barclay's Premier League.
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