17.03. (Thu) 19:00 Paris Saint Germain - Benfica

DID YOU KNOW?

* Paris Saint Germain are unbeaten in four home games against Portuguese opposition (W3 D1 L0 in Paris)

* Les Parisien's nine games against Portuguese sides have ended W4 D2 L3

* Five of PSG's last seven European fixtures ended in draws

* Antoine Koumbouare's men are unbeaten in 14 European home games at Parc des Princes

* Their last home defeat was a 4-2 loss to Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC on 23 November 2006

* The capital club's last five games in all competitions has seen them win twice, lose twice and draw once.

* Benfica have a record of W10 D5 L6 against Ligue 1 teams.

* Jorge Jesus' men also have a record of W3 D1 L6 in France.

* The Eagles lost all three of their away ties in the Champions League group stage without scoring.

* This run was ended by a 2-0 win away to Stuttgart in the last round of the Europa League.

* Their last league game ended in a disappointing home draw against Portimonese on Sunday albeit with a weakened side.

* The Eagles have won 19 of their previous 21 games in all competitions.

LAST MEETING

10 March 2011: Benfica 2-1 Paris St Germain

Substitute Franco Jara completed a come-from-behind 2-1 win for Benfica over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Europa League last 16.

PSG had earlier gone ahead when Peguy Luyindula beat the offside trap to turn in a precious away goal for the Parisiens. Maxi Pereira equalised for the home side just before half-time after Carlos Martins' assist, before Jara’s late winner in which he lashed in a low shot on the edge of the area to put the home side in the driver's seat ahead of Thursday's decider.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

PSG: Edel, Jallet, Tiene, Armand, Sakho, Makelele, Bodmer, Nene, Erding, Hoarau, Giuly

Benfica: Roberto, Luisao, Maxi Pereira, Coentrao, Sidnei, Aimar, Carlos Martins,Gaitan, Salvio, Cardozo, Saviola

Prediction

Benfica look to be favourites to progress, and following that first leg comeback win in Lisbon last week, the Eagles should be wary of a very unpredictable Parisien outfit. PSG have floundered recently, whilst Benfica rested most of their players last weekend in order to stay fresh for this decider. Les Parisiens will put up a fight, but Jorge Jesus' men will be the most likely names in Friday's Europa League draw.

PSG 1-1 Benfica

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17.03. (Thu) 19:00 Spartak Moskva - Ajax

DID YOU KNOW?

* Spartak Moscow’s 1-0 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam in the first leg last week was their maiden win against a Dutch team in five attempts.

* The Red-Whites are the only Russian opposition Ajax have ever faced.

* Valery Karpin’s side haven’t won at home in their last three European fixtures, having lost twice and drawn one.

* Spartak Moscow striker Ari played in the Netherlands for AZ between 2007 and 2010 and scored against Ajax on 23 November 2008 in a 2-0 victory in the Eredivisie.

* Ajax have won their last two European away matches and didn’t concede in either game.

* The former Dutch and European champions have yet to lose in the Europa League on the road – that’s six away games without a defeat.

* Frank de Boer’s side’s defeat to Spartak last week put an end to their three-game winning streak in Europe. They didn’t concede in any of those three matches.

* Ajax are just two goals away from conceding their 100th goal in the Europa League/UEFA Cup.

LAST MEETING

March 10, 2011: Ajax 0-1 Spartak Moscow

Alex’s second-half strike proved to be the difference between the two sides in Amsterdam in the first leg of this round of 16 tie in the Champions League. The Dutch giants controlled most of the possession in the game and mustered no fewer than 15 shots on target, but had to suffer a one-goal defeat.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Spartak Moscow: Dikan; K. Kombarov, Rojo, Suchy, Makeev; McGeady, Ibson, Carioca, D. Kombarov; Alex; Welliton

Ajax: Verhoeven; Van der Wiel, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Blind; De Zeeuw, Anita, Eriksen; Sulejmani, De Jong, Ebecilio

Prediction

Spartak Moscow have seemingly done their job after winning 1-0 in Amsterdam. The Russian Premier League has just started, which means that they will now have some match practice ahead of their second leg, which should see them win again at home.

Spartak 1-0 Ajax

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17.03. (Thu) 19:00 Zenit - Twente

DID YOU KNOW?

* Zenit St. Petersburg have not lost in 11 European home games since their defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League in September 2008.

* Zenit have won all of their six home matches in Europe this season and have scored on an average three goals in each match since the group stage.

* Luciano Spalletti won the Russian Premier League title with Zenit in November 2010, less than a year after he was appointed their coach.

* Zenit have never featured in a European penalty shoot-out.

* Twente defeated former Russian champions Rubin Kazan 4-2 on aggregate in the round of 32 in the Europa League this campaign.

* The Dutch champions defeated Rubin 2-0 in the Russian city of Kazan in the first leg of that tie.

* The Tukkers have alternated between wins and losses in four European games on the road. If that pattern is to continue, then they should lose to Zenit in St Petersburg.

* Twente midfielder Theo Janssen and Zenit’s Danko Lazovic were team-mates at Vitesse in 2006-07.

LAST MEETING

March 10, 2011: Twente 3-0 Zenit St Petersburg

Twente virtually secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after a 3-0 victory over Zenit at home. Luuk de Jong opened the scoring after 25 minutes and Denny Landzaat added a second 11 minutes into the second session. Then in injury time De Jong netted his second and wrapped up the win.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Zenit St. Petersburg: Malafeev; Anyukov, Meira, Bruno Alves, Lukovic; Shirokov, Denisov, Zyryano; Lazovic, Danny; Kerzhakov

Twente: Mihaylov; Rosales, Wisgerhof, Onyewu, Buysse; Brama, Janssen, Landzaat; Bajrami, De Jong, Chadli

Prediction

Zenit will be compelled to win against Twente at home to have something to cheer about but they wouldn’t be able to put three past the Dutch champions.

Zenit 2-1 Twente

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16.03. (Wed) 20:45 Real - Olympique Lyonnais

DID YOU KNOW?

* Real Madrid have faced Olympique Lyonnais seven times in the Champions League but have yet to win.

* Los Blancos are the only side in the Champions League this season yet to concede a goal at home. Along with Manchester United they are also the only team yet to lose in the competition.

* Jose Mourinho has lost only four of his 39 Champions League home matches as a coach (twice with Porto and one each with Chelsea and Inter).

* Los Merengues striker Karim Benzema has scored on average a goal every 55 minutes in the Champions League this campaign. His goal against Lyon in the first leg was the fastest by a substitute in the competition in 2010-11.

* Real Madrid have been knocked out of the Champion League from the round of 16 stage for the last six years. Last season they went out to Lyon.

* Olympique Lyonnais have not won their last four Champions League matches, currently the longest run among the teams in the last 16 stage.

* Les Gones have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight away matches in the Champions League.

* Claude Puel’s side have drawn all of their three matches at the Santiago Bernabeu.

* No French club side has ever won against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League/European Cup.

* Michel Bastos is suspended for the second leg in Madrid on Wednesday night.

LAST MEETING

February 22, 2011: Olympique Lyonnais 1-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid took the lead against Lyon in the second half through Karim Benzema. The France international forward found the target against his former club just 43 seconds after coming on as a substitute but with seven minutes remaining the French giants struck back, as Cris headed towards Bafetimbi Gomis, whose volley seared into the net.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Arbeloa; Alonso, Khedira; Di Maria, Oezil, Ronaldo; Benzema

Lyon: Lloris; Reveillere, Cris, Lovren, Kallstrom; Toulalan, Gourcuff, Gonalons; Lisandro, Gomis, Cesar Delgado

Prediction

Last season Real Madrid were knocked out of the round of 16 by Lyon and have failed to muster a spot in the quarter-finals for the last six years. However, this time with Mourinho in charge and a host of world class players the Spanish giants will be favourites to progress especially as they have an away goal. A narrow win for los Blancos should do the trick.

Real Madrid to win 2-1 @ 8.50/Over 2.5 goals @ 1.67

Real Madrid 2-1 O. Lyon

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16.03. (Wed) 20:45 Chelsea - FC Kobenhavn

DID YOU KNOW?

* Chelsea are aiming to reach the last eight for the fourth time in five years, having seen their record tarnished after crashing out to eventual champions Inter last term.

* The Blues have lost just one of their last 25 Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge.

* Nicholas Anelka has scored 10 in his last 11 Champions League starts.

* With 66 shots wide, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have hit more efforts either side of the post that any other team in the competition.

* Branislav Ivanovic is Chelsea’s only ever-present Champions League performer this term, having started every game in this year's tournament.

* With only seven to their name, Copenhagen have the joint lowest goal tally (alongside Manchester United) for teams that are still remaining in the tournament.

* The visitors also have the lowest average possession percentage of the competition’s remaining teams, averaging at 46 per cent.

* No Scandinavian side has ever won a Champions League knockout-stage match.

* Senegalese striker Dame N'Doye has committed 22 fouls, more than any other player still in the competition ahead of the second legs.

* Stale Solbakken’s side have secured 54 points in 21 league games so far this season, the highest ever total in the Danish Superliga at this stage of the campaign.

LAST MEETING

February 22, 2011: FC Copenhagen 0-2 Chelsea

A Nicolas Anelka brace put the visitors in the driving seat with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Danish champions.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Malouda; Torres, Anelka.

Copenhagen: Wiland; Kvist, Zanka Jorgensen, Antonnson, Wendt; Bolanos, Claudemir, Kristensen, Vingaard; Santin, N’Doye.

Prediction

Much was made of Copenhagen’s potential ability to shock the Premier League champions when the draw was made but they offered very little in this tie’s first leg to justify their plaudits. Having lost two out of three in the league following their return from an extensive winter break, the Danish champions have yet to warm up and must do their best to simply avoid being blown away by a resurgent Chelsea.

Fernando Torres to score first Chelsea goal @ 3.75 

Chelsea 2-0 Copenhagen

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