UCL Previews for Feb 17, 2010

Porto vs. Arsenal

Arsenal might have the best draw in the last 16 of the Champions League, but Porto has frequently shown that they can surprise people. Arsenal have always been staggering in the European stage’s Group stages but have often faltered in the knockout stages. Jesualdo Ferreira’s men will hope that the trend stays the same when the Gunners visit Estadio do Dragao.

Arsene Wenger admitted that the team is under an injury crisis with key players like Andrey Arshavin, William Gallas, and Manuel Almunia all declared out of the game and hence not travelling to Portugal. This leaves a big hole in the already weak Arsenal defense, as the London side will need to rely on the services of Sol Campbell, who played his last Champions League match during the Arsenal and Barcelona final where he scored the opening header.

Despite a win last year against the Gunners, Porto are unlikely to make something spectacular happen, as the first leg of last year’s tie (that had the experienced Arsenal players play) ended in a 4-0 loss for the Portuguese outfit. If they wish to beat the English, the may need to reference Manchester United and Chelsea’s recent success against Wenger’s boys. But at the end of the day, we expect the English side to progress.

Bayern Munchen vs. Fiorentina

Bayern are on an amazing form right now, winning 12 games out of 12 recently, scoring 19 goals in the recent six fixtures. Fiorentina have been less than impressive, with four losses and a draw in their last five games. Cesare Prandelli realizes that times aren’t best for the Italian outfit, and his recent interview shows that while the team will “try their best,” results sometimes can’t always go their way. Contrastingly, Louis van Gaal knows that his team is in the best form of this season so far, and taking advantage of the opportunity to play an out of form team at Allianz Arena is a must if they wish to progress to the next round.

Miroslav Klose is doubtful for the game, but the German side has been able to score plenty of goals recently, with goals coming from all parts of the field, such as from the defensive/central midfielder, Mark van Bommel. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben will continue to be lethal on both sides of the wing and will certainly take advantage of Fiorentina’s defense.

However, the Viola aren’t a pushover team (and no team are at this stage of the competition), so bombarding forward too much could cost the home side big time by giving the visitors the precious away goal. Expect the Germans to go 13 out of 13, though, and maybe we will reconsider Fiorentina’s chances in the second leg.

Jann - livescoredaily.com - livescore