Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Champions League play-off second leg preview

Tuesday (20:45 CET) FC Zurich - Bayern Munich (agg: 0-2)
Villarreal - Odense (agg: 0-1)
Malmo - Dinamo Zagreb (agg: 1-4)
Genk - Maccabi Haifa (agg: 1-2)
Apoel Nicosia - Wisla Krakow (agg: 0-1)
Wednesday (20:45 CET)
Udinese - Arsenal (agg: 0-1)
Sturm Graz - BATE Borisov (agg: 1-1)
Viktoria Plzen - FC Copenhagen (agg: 3-1)
Benfica - FC Twente (agg: 2-2)
Rubin Kazan - Olympique Lyon (agg: 1-3) (18:00 CET)



O. Lyon FC Zurich - Bayern Munich O. Lyon
Goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben leave the 2009-10 runners-up in a perfect position to qualify for the group stages. FC Zurich, who have a shock win over AC Milan to their name, the last time they made it to the group stages, will have to defy the odds to progress this time around. Read the full match preview here.
VillarrealVillarreal - Odense Odense
Danish outfit Odense recorded a shock 1-0 victory over Villarreal last week, thanks in part to Cristian Zapata's bizarre mistake. With the return at El Madrigal on Tuesday, the Yellow Submarine must be fancying their chances to progress to the group stages. Read the full match preview here.
MalmöMalmo - Dinamo Zagreb Dinamo Zagreb
Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb will be forgiven for thinking that they already have one foot in the group stages after a convincing display in their 4-1 thrashing of Malmo in the first leg.
Krunoslav Jurcic's men are unbeaten in five European games this season, and have won three and lost only two of their last seven European away games. The Croatians, who have lost at this stage five times previously, will be hoping for a better campaign should they reach the group stage. In 1999/2000, Dinamo finished bottom in a group containing Manchester United, Olympique Marseille and Sturm Graz.
Malmo, who claimed the major scalp of Scottish champions Rangers in the last qualifying round, will be hoping for an unlikely comeback, despite only winning once at home in Europe this season.
Rikard Norling's men, who are also Swedish champions, will be counting on Agon Mehmeti's 17th-minute away goal in Croatia as the foundation on which to build a stirring return to the Champions League group stages.
GenkGenk - Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa
Genk are seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Israel, if they are to progress to the group stages for the first time since 2002-03. Goals from Weaam Amasha and Vladimir Dvalishvili and an away goal from Elyaniv Barda mean that there is still all to play for in Belgium on Tuesday.
The managerless Belgians are however, seeking comfort from the fact that the Israelis are winless in their last six European games on the road. Genk, though, have only prevailed three times in their last seven continental encounters at the Cristal Arena.
Maccabi Haifa, coached by Elisha Levi, are aiming for a third group-stage appearance. The last time they were in the play-offs, they thrashed Salzburg 5-1 in 2009-10.
Adding to their cause, Haifa will have to keep in mind that no Israeli club has ever tasted victory in Belgium - with the record standing at W0 D2 L4.
APOELAPOEL Nicosia - Wisla Krakow Wisla
Wisla Krakow are hoping to make it seventh time lucky in the premlinaries, having never progressed to the Champions League group stages. The White Stars, however, are boosted by their 1-0 home victory over the APOEL in last week's first leg - Patryk Małecki giving his side the narrowest of wins.
The Polish outfit, who are also league winners, have won all five games in Europe this term. Wisla, who beat Barcelona 1-0 before being eliminated 4-1. They were also European Cup quarter-finalists 32 years ago, and are 90 minutes away from a maiden group-stage appearance.
The solitary goal in the first leg, proved to be the first that APOEL had shipped in this season's tournament.  The Nicosia club have also gone six matches without a defeat in Europe, stretching back to last year's Europa League campaign.
Ivan Jovanovic's men were last in the group stages in 2009-10, and were drawn in a tough looking group which contained Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and Chelsea. Two draws against Atletico, and a 2-2 tie away at Chelsea were the standout results for the Cypriots.

UdineseUdinese - Arsenal Arsenal
Theo Walcott's fourth-minute goal might have given Arsenal the first-leg lead at the Emirates last Tuesday, but it was far from a convincing performance as Udinese, and in particular Antonio Di Natale, missed a host of chances. The Italians, who were impressive in London, will be seeking revenge against a Gunners side rocked by summer departures and Arsene Wenger's two-match touchline ban handed to him by UEFA. Read the full match preview here.
Sturm GrazSturm Graz- BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov
The first leg in Belarus ended in a stalemate, with Manuel Weber giving the Austrians a 12th-minute lead which was subsequently cancelled out by Marko Simić after 59 minutes.
The tie is finely poised, with Sturm Grraz aiming to make it to the group stages for the first time since 2000-01. Sturm have won four of their last five European home games, with Juventus the only winners in Austria in last season's Europa League.
The last time the Austrians made it to the group stages, they qualified for the second phase against the likes of Valencia, Manchester United and Panathinaikos.
Belarus champions BATE are hoping to make their second ever appearance in Europe's premier club competition. The Eastern Europeans have drawn three of their last European away games, two 0-0s and a 1-1, results which wouldn't see them qualify directly within 90 minutes.
FC Viktoria PlzeňViktoria Plzen - FC CopenhagenCopenhagen
Czech champions Viktoria Plzen produced the result of the play-off round by stunning Danish champions Copenhagen 3-1 at Parken last week. Sölvi Ottesen's own-goal gave Plzen a 52nd-minute advantage which was doubled by Václav Pilař shortly afterwards. Ottesen atoned for his mistake by halving the deficit, before Martin Fillo's third completed the scoring.

Pavel Vrba's men have never qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, but are close to doing so, as the Danes will have to overturn a three-away goal deficit. Although, the last time the Lions travelled to the Czech Republic, they did beat Sparta Prague 3-0 after a home defeat in 2009-10.

Copenhagen qualified for last season's group stage, in which they held Barcelona at home before progressing to the knockout round. Last week was the first time the Danes had  conceded or lost at Parken in Europe since a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the last 16 in February.

Plzen, who are by far the most inexperienced in the play-off round, will qualify for a UEFA competition group stage if they manage to oust the Danes on Wednesday.

BenficaBenfica - FC Twente Twente

FC Twente and Benfica played out an enthralling first leg in Enschede last week. The match had ended 2-2, with Luuk De Jong giving Twente an early lead before goals from Oscar Cardozo and Nolito swung the tie the Eagles way. Bryan Ruiz propped up in the 80th minute to leave the tie finely poised ahead of the return in Lisbon on Wednesday.

The Tukkers appeared in their first-ever Champions League group stage appearance last year, but have won only one of their last five European away games. The Dutch outfit have also been eliminated at this stage twice before, against Arsenal in 2008-09 and Sporting Lisbon in 2009-10.

Benfica, on the other hand, are a more formidable side at home, having clocked up 13 wins in their last 15 European games at Estadio da Luz. Their only home defeat came against Schalke in last season's group stage.

The Aguias will be hoping for better should they qualify for the group stage, having been outclassed by Lyon and Schalke in 2010-11. Benfica were European champions in 1961 and 1962, while their best performance in recent years was a quarter-final appearance in 2006.

Rubin KazanRubin Kazan - Olympique LyonO. Lyon

The Ligue 1 giants are one match away from taking their place in the Uefa Champions League group stages, and after a superb 3-1 victory over the Tatarstan side last week, few will bet against their participation. Read the full match preview here.