It's Act One of a Three-Act Play with Arsenal hosting Liverpool at the Emirates in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final that sandwiches a Premier League clash between the teams on Saturday lunchtime. Before the quarter-final draw was made it seemed mathematically inevitable that at least two of England's four representatives would be paired together in the last eight, and so it proved, with the teams who between them have contested the last three Champions League finals coming out of the pots together to set up the first quarter-final.
Arsenal, having lost this year to Manchester United in the FA Cup (on 16th February) and Chelsea in the Premier League 10 days ago, may feel happier facing Liverpool than either of their other domestic rivals, except that the Reds have by far the best pedigree of any English club in Europe's top competition, and in Rafael Benitez have a manager whose tactical acumen seems particularly well suited to two-legged European cat-and-mouse affairs.
The fact that Liverpool have struggled against Chelsea in the Premier League under Benitez, but twice defeated the Blues in the semi-finals of the Champions League in the last three years, underlines the point. So Arsenal's relatively good record against Benitez's Liverpool in domestic competition (played three, won three at home; played six, won two, drawn one, lost three at Anfield) may not be all that significant.
And although the Gunners thrashed Liverpool twice in four days at Anfield last season (3-1 in the FA Cup, 6-3 in the Carling Cup), that again is unlikely to have much bearing on Wednesday's fixture - or indeed the trilogy of matches over the coming week. For one thing, it is unlikely that any of Arsenal's scorers of those nine goals in January 2007 will be involved in these matches: Tomas Rosicky (2) is injured, Alexandre Song (1) has featured only rarely in the first team this season, and Julio Baptista (4), Jeremie Aliadiere (1) and Thierry Henry (1) have all left the club.
Morale-Boosting Wins
More relevant could be this season's meeting between the sides at Anfield - and each team's recent form. On 28th October, the Gunners travelled to Merseyside having just thrashed Slavia Prague 7-0 in the Champions League. Liverpool had gone down 2-1 to Besiktas in Istanbul, but they took the lead against the Gunners after seven minutes through a superbly struck free-kick from Steven Gerrard. However, Arsenal took that set-back in their stride and continued to play their fluent passing game, threatening the Liverpool goal several times before finally being rewarded when Cesc Fabregas latched onto an Alex Hleb through-ball to equalise ten minutes from time. It was seen as a point gained by Liverpool and two dropped by Arsenal at the time. Both teams were unbeaten in the Premier League but Liverpool were struggling a little at Anfield while Arsenal went into the game on the back of 12 straight wins.
Fast-forward to mid-February, with the resumption of Champions League fare on the horizon. FA Cup fifth round weekend was a disaster for both sides, Arsenal being summarily dismissed by Manchester United, who administered a 4-0 thrashing that could have been even more emphatic, and Liverpool succumbing 2-1 at home to Championship side Barnsley despite having taken the lead. Since then, Arsenal have played eight in all competitions, winning just two, drawing five and losing one, scoring just 10 and conceding eight. Liverpool, in contrast, have played nine, won eight and lost one, racking up 19 goals while shipping seven.
Little doubt, then, about who is in the better shape going into these three clashes. But both sides bounced back from defeats on 'Grand Slam Sunday' by securing morale-boosting wins at the weekend.
Liverpool defeated neighbours Everton 1-0 in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, after Arsenal had staged a remarkable comeback at Bolton 24 hours earlier. The Gunners were two goals and one man down at half-time at The Reebok, but dug deeper than they had all season to conjure three second-half goals and keep alive their flickering hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title they last won in 2003-04.
A Question Of Targets
The fact that Arsenal thus remain involved in the Premiership title race is seen as another key factor in assessing the likely outcome of this Champions League quarter-final. To the frustration of their fans, Liverpool's prospects of breaking their 18-year domestic league drought were effectively snuffed out some time ago, on the back of too many dropped points at Anfield. Elimination from the domestic cups also meant that winning the Champions League for a sixth time became their priority. The victory over Everton at the weekend tightened their grip on fourth place in the Premiership - the Reds' insurance policy for next season's European adventure - so they go into Wednesday's clash and next Tuesday's second leg focused solely on reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years.
Arsenal still have twin targets, and must beat Liverpool on Saturday as well as in this quarter-final if they are to retain any chance of thwarting Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race. That could influence both managers' team selections over these three matches, and would appear to favour Benitez on the face of it - something he has already acknowledged himself. The Liverpool boss also believes that taking the Gunners back to Merseyside for the second leg will be to the Reds' advantage. He confirmed: "Playing the second game at home could be very positive for us, because whenever we play at Anfield, it is an inspiration to us."
European Records & The Current Campaign
When it comes to Europe, Liverpool are the undisputed masters among English clubs. The Reds have won the Champions Cup/Champions League five times (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005), and also won the Uefa Cup in 1973, 1976 and 2001. They have been Champions Cup/Champions League runners-up twice, in 1985 and again last year when they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan.
Arsenal's European record is modest by comparison. Their best performance in the Champions League was when finishing as runners-up to Barcelona in 2006. They won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994, and were runners-up in the Uefa Cup in 2000, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1980 and 1995.
However, the Gunners are currently unbeaten in 20 European home matches, 18 of them in the Champions League, which is the fourth longest unbeaten streak in Champions League history. It is just two short of the English record held by Manchester United, but 11 short of the all-time record set by Bayern Munich.
As for Liverpool, they have won their last five Champions League matches, two of which were away from Anfield. Their winning streak is the joint seventh longest in the competition's history; ironically Arsenal hold the English record with six successive victories, though Barcelona hold the competition record with nine.
Last season, Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and Arsenal fourth, so both had to get through the third qualifying round in August in order to take their places in the Group Stage.
Both progressed smoothly over that preliminary hurdle, Liverpool disposing of Toulouse 5-0 on aggregate and Arsenal beating Sparta Prague by the same aggregate score.
Once in the Group Stage, though, the two clubs took contrasting paths. The Gunners cruised through their first three matches without conceding a goal, defeating much-fancied Sevilla 3-0, Steaua Bucharest 1-0 away and Slavia Prague 7-0 at home. That equalled the record victory in the competition, though Liverpool would soon eclipse it. However, the Reds had got off to a less than auspicious start in their Group matches. A 1-1 draw at Porto was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by Marseille and a 2-1 reverse in Istanbul at the hands of Besiktas, leaving their survival hopes precariously poised.
So the reverse fixtures began with Arsenal looking comfortable and Liverpool anything but. The Reds though got down to business, hammering Besiktas 8-0, Porto 4-1 and Marseille 4-0 in an impressive display of strength and purpose.
As for the Gunners, they were held to a goalless draw in Prague, then lost 3-1 to Sevilla on November 27th - their first defeat of the season in any competition. But they rallied to beat Steaua 2-1, though like Liverpool, their earlier stumbles left them as runners-up in their respective Groups (Arsenal behind Sevilla, Liverpool behind Porto).
San Siro Successes
That meant both would face Group winners in the first knockout round, and the draw looked tough when Arsenal came out of the pot with holders AC Milan (Liverpool's conquerors in last season's final) and the Reds were paired with the Rossoneri's city rivals Internazionale, reigning Italian champions and current Serie A leaders.
However, the Premiership clubs did themselves and their League proud, Arsenal defeating Milan 2-0 on aggregate and Liverpool humbling Inter 3-0 over two legs. Both won their away legs at the San Siro in impressive style. And so to this quarter-final meeting against each other. Both squads (and their fans) would probably have preferred continental opposition, if only because that is what European football is all about. But they may need to get used to Premier League opponents if they are to win the tournament.
That is because whoever prevails in this quarter-final may well meet Chelsea in the semis, assuming the Blues can get past Fenerbahce. And whoever wins that semi could find themselves facing Manchester United in the Moscow final - although Roma and Barcelona/Schalke will have something to say about that.
Head-To-Head
This is the 200th meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool in a major competition. So far, Arsenal have won 70, Liverpool have won 80, and 49 have been drawn. They played each other four times last season, the League fixtures producing emphatic home wins (3-0 at he Emirates, 4-1 at Anfield), while Arsenal knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup (1-3) and Carling Cup (3-6), both at Anfield.
Arsene Wenger leads Rafa Benitez in the head-to-heads with five wins to Rafa's three; the only draw was the 1-1 earlier this season at Anfield.
The two clubs have never met before in European competition. Arsenal have played one other English club at home in a European match, and that was four years ago, when they lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea at this same stage of the Champions League, going out on aggregate after having drawn at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have played another English club on six previous occasions away from home in European competition - and are yet to win.
Discipline
Gael Clichy, Denilson, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal) and Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Fabio Aurelio (Liverpool) will miss the second leg of this tie if they are shown a yellow card at the Emirates.
Expert View
Former Liverpool legend Alan Hansen, now a BBC pundit, expects his old club to go through after two very tight games, citing momentum and confidence as huge factors in football, and saying Liverpool have more of it in this competition than Arsenal.
Hansen said on the BBC Sport website: "Arsenal have been struggling and have been in freefall, despite a great result against AC Milan in the San Siro in the last 16, but they came back from real adversity at the weekend and it would be foolish to discount them."
He described their comeback at Bolton as "a performance that showed real reserves of character, given their recent form."
But he said Liverpool are a team "built for the Champions League," saying they "proved it again against Inter Milan in the last round. They were very solid, good on the counter-attack and will fancy their chances against Arsenal.
"Arsenal have huge ability and they will hope their big players demonstrate it against Liverpool, but Emmanuel Adebayor has gone off the boil recently and even Cesc Fabregas has not been playing as well as he was.
"They have struggled defensively and opponents will note how they cracked under pressure against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after holding the lead going into the last 20 minutes.
"Arsenal will take great heart from what happened at The Reebok on Saturday - but Liverpool will be a different proposition to Bolton. Liverpool are my favourites to go through because the Champions League really seems to suit them. It is a more cautious, tactical approach and they have a cautious manager in Rafael Benitez.
"This is not in any way a negative comment about Benitez. He simply has a way of playing that suits the Champions League, as Liverpool's recent record in the competition proves, and that is good management.
"Liverpool will get men behind the ball at Arsenal and they will be delighted the second leg is at Anfield, where the crowd will be such a factor. I expect this to be a very tight affair, more of a slog than pretty football. The away goal is more important now than when I played, in fact, it is hugely important, but make no mistake, if you offered Benitez 0-0 now he would bite your hand off."
Meanwhile, in the build-up to the match, players on both sides have been asked to comment and predictably their responses to the journalists have been blown up into banner headlines that suggest arrogant over-confidence when in fact a circumspect, honest opinion was offered.
Thus "Toure Says Liverpool Are Scared Of Arsenal" and "Gerrard Says Arsenal Should Fear Us" have made good copy but generated more heat than light. The fact is that both these teams, the managers and even the supporters, have huge respect for one another. There is little of the hostility or bitterness that flavours matches between either of them and Manchester United or Chelsea, but that does not mean this trilogy of matches will not be very keenly contested, with no quarter asked or given.
FORM GUIDE
Last Six Matches - All Competitions
Arsenal
29 Mar (Premier League) v Bolton (A) WON 3-2
23 Mar (Premier League) v Chelsea (A) LOST 1-2
16 Mar (Premier League) v Middlesbrough (H) DREW 1-1
09 Mar (Premier League) v Wigan (A) DREW 0-0
04 Mar (Champions League) v AC Milan (A) WON 2-0
01 Mar (Premier League) v Aston Villa (H) DREW 1-1
Liverpool
30 Mar (Premier League) v Everton (H) WON 1-0
23 Mar (Premier League) v Man Utd (A) LOST 0-3
15 Mar (Premier League) v Reading (H) WON 2-1
11 Mar (Champions League) v Inter Milan (A) WON 1-0
08 Mar (Premier League) v Newcastle (H) WON 3-0
05 Mar (Premier League) v West Ham (H) WON 4-0
Champions League 2007-08
Arsenal
Third Qualifying Round : 1 v Sparta Prague (A) WON 2-0
Third Qualifying Round : 2 v Sparta Prague (H) WON 3-0
Group H Matchday 1 v Sevilla (H) WON 3-0
Group H Matchday 2 v Steaua (A) WON 1-0
Group H Matchday 3 v Slavia Prague (H) WON 7-0
Group H Matchday 4 v Slavia Prague (A) DREW 0-0
Group H Matchday 5 v Sevilla (A) LOST 1-3
Group H Matchday 6 v Steaua (H) WON 2-1
First Knockout Round : 1 v AC Milan (H) DREW 0-0
First Knockout Round : 2 v AC Milan (A) WON 2-0
Liverpool
Third Qualifying Round : 1 v Toulouse (A) WON 1-0
Third Qualifying Round : 2 v Toulouse (H) WON 4-0
Group A Matchday 1 v Porto (A) DREW 1-1
Group A Matchday 2 v Marseille (H) LOST 0-1
Group A Matchday 3 v Besiktas (A) LOST 1-2
Group A Matchday 4 v Besiktas (H) WON 8-0
Group A Matchday 5 v Porto (H) WON 4-1
Group A Matchday 6 v Marseille (A) WON 4-0
First Knockout Round : 1 v Inter Milan (H) WON 2-0
First Knockout Round : 2 v Inter Milan (A) WON 1-0
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor is set to start after being rested for Saturday's game at Bolton. Midfielder Abou Diaby is available because his suspension after being sent off in that match does not apply to European football.
Last Starting XI (v Bolton): Arsenal: Almunia, Toure, Senderos (Walcott 59), Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Diaby, Bendtner (Adebayor 60), Van Persie (Justin Hoyte 90). Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Eboue.
Squad: Arsenal (from): Almunia, Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Walcott, van Persie, Adebayor, Lehmann, Diaby, Bendtner, Hoyte, Senderos, Gilberto, Denilson.
Liverpool
Midfielder Javier Mascherano is likely to return to the side after serving a one-game suspension. Defenders Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio are also back in the squad after recovering from injuries.
Last Starting XI (v Everton): Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Riise, Lucas, Gerrard (Crouch 90), Alonso, Babel (Benayoun 82), Torres (Pennant 89), Kuyt. Subs Not Used: Itandje, Finnan.
Squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Riise, Aurelio, Babel, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt, Voronin, Crouch, Torres, Pennant, Lucas, Itandje.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
While Cesc Fabregas will provide the Gunners' main creative impetus, and his midfield battle with Javier Mascherano will probably be pivotal, it will be goals that decide the tie, and Arsenal will be looking to Dutchman Robin van Persie, a player with the big game temperament, to deliver after returning to full fitness from the knee injury sustained while on international duty with Holland last October. Van Persie has scored eight goals despite restricted appearances, and now has 42 in his Arsenal career. Emmanuel Adebayor, likely to partner him in attack against Liverpool, has 39 to his credit - 23 of them scored this season.
Liverpool
It has to be Fernando Torres at the moment, the striker who is in electric form and whose partnership with midfielder Steven Gerrard has proved dazzlingly productive in recent weeks. Torres now has 28 goals to his account this season, and Gerrard 19, with the pair of them scoring nine times in Europe. Torres has been praised from all quarters this week, deservedly so, and is flourishing as the main striker in Benitez's more settled side. His pace could trouble the Arsenal defence, and the Spaniard will undoubtedly provide the main goal threat to the Gunners.
Arsenal, having lost this year to Manchester United in the FA Cup (on 16th February) and Chelsea in the Premier League 10 days ago, may feel happier facing Liverpool than either of their other domestic rivals, except that the Reds have by far the best pedigree of any English club in Europe's top competition, and in Rafael Benitez have a manager whose tactical acumen seems particularly well suited to two-legged European cat-and-mouse affairs.
The fact that Liverpool have struggled against Chelsea in the Premier League under Benitez, but twice defeated the Blues in the semi-finals of the Champions League in the last three years, underlines the point. So Arsenal's relatively good record against Benitez's Liverpool in domestic competition (played three, won three at home; played six, won two, drawn one, lost three at Anfield) may not be all that significant.
And although the Gunners thrashed Liverpool twice in four days at Anfield last season (3-1 in the FA Cup, 6-3 in the Carling Cup), that again is unlikely to have much bearing on Wednesday's fixture - or indeed the trilogy of matches over the coming week. For one thing, it is unlikely that any of Arsenal's scorers of those nine goals in January 2007 will be involved in these matches: Tomas Rosicky (2) is injured, Alexandre Song (1) has featured only rarely in the first team this season, and Julio Baptista (4), Jeremie Aliadiere (1) and Thierry Henry (1) have all left the club.
Morale-Boosting Wins
More relevant could be this season's meeting between the sides at Anfield - and each team's recent form. On 28th October, the Gunners travelled to Merseyside having just thrashed Slavia Prague 7-0 in the Champions League. Liverpool had gone down 2-1 to Besiktas in Istanbul, but they took the lead against the Gunners after seven minutes through a superbly struck free-kick from Steven Gerrard. However, Arsenal took that set-back in their stride and continued to play their fluent passing game, threatening the Liverpool goal several times before finally being rewarded when Cesc Fabregas latched onto an Alex Hleb through-ball to equalise ten minutes from time. It was seen as a point gained by Liverpool and two dropped by Arsenal at the time. Both teams were unbeaten in the Premier League but Liverpool were struggling a little at Anfield while Arsenal went into the game on the back of 12 straight wins.
Fast-forward to mid-February, with the resumption of Champions League fare on the horizon. FA Cup fifth round weekend was a disaster for both sides, Arsenal being summarily dismissed by Manchester United, who administered a 4-0 thrashing that could have been even more emphatic, and Liverpool succumbing 2-1 at home to Championship side Barnsley despite having taken the lead. Since then, Arsenal have played eight in all competitions, winning just two, drawing five and losing one, scoring just 10 and conceding eight. Liverpool, in contrast, have played nine, won eight and lost one, racking up 19 goals while shipping seven.
Little doubt, then, about who is in the better shape going into these three clashes. But both sides bounced back from defeats on 'Grand Slam Sunday' by securing morale-boosting wins at the weekend.
Liverpool defeated neighbours Everton 1-0 in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, after Arsenal had staged a remarkable comeback at Bolton 24 hours earlier. The Gunners were two goals and one man down at half-time at The Reebok, but dug deeper than they had all season to conjure three second-half goals and keep alive their flickering hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title they last won in 2003-04.
A Question Of Targets
The fact that Arsenal thus remain involved in the Premiership title race is seen as another key factor in assessing the likely outcome of this Champions League quarter-final. To the frustration of their fans, Liverpool's prospects of breaking their 18-year domestic league drought were effectively snuffed out some time ago, on the back of too many dropped points at Anfield. Elimination from the domestic cups also meant that winning the Champions League for a sixth time became their priority. The victory over Everton at the weekend tightened their grip on fourth place in the Premiership - the Reds' insurance policy for next season's European adventure - so they go into Wednesday's clash and next Tuesday's second leg focused solely on reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years.
Arsenal still have twin targets, and must beat Liverpool on Saturday as well as in this quarter-final if they are to retain any chance of thwarting Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race. That could influence both managers' team selections over these three matches, and would appear to favour Benitez on the face of it - something he has already acknowledged himself. The Liverpool boss also believes that taking the Gunners back to Merseyside for the second leg will be to the Reds' advantage. He confirmed: "Playing the second game at home could be very positive for us, because whenever we play at Anfield, it is an inspiration to us."
European Records & The Current Campaign
When it comes to Europe, Liverpool are the undisputed masters among English clubs. The Reds have won the Champions Cup/Champions League five times (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005), and also won the Uefa Cup in 1973, 1976 and 2001. They have been Champions Cup/Champions League runners-up twice, in 1985 and again last year when they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan.
Arsenal's European record is modest by comparison. Their best performance in the Champions League was when finishing as runners-up to Barcelona in 2006. They won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994, and were runners-up in the Uefa Cup in 2000, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1980 and 1995.
However, the Gunners are currently unbeaten in 20 European home matches, 18 of them in the Champions League, which is the fourth longest unbeaten streak in Champions League history. It is just two short of the English record held by Manchester United, but 11 short of the all-time record set by Bayern Munich.
As for Liverpool, they have won their last five Champions League matches, two of which were away from Anfield. Their winning streak is the joint seventh longest in the competition's history; ironically Arsenal hold the English record with six successive victories, though Barcelona hold the competition record with nine.
Last season, Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and Arsenal fourth, so both had to get through the third qualifying round in August in order to take their places in the Group Stage.
Both progressed smoothly over that preliminary hurdle, Liverpool disposing of Toulouse 5-0 on aggregate and Arsenal beating Sparta Prague by the same aggregate score.
Once in the Group Stage, though, the two clubs took contrasting paths. The Gunners cruised through their first three matches without conceding a goal, defeating much-fancied Sevilla 3-0, Steaua Bucharest 1-0 away and Slavia Prague 7-0 at home. That equalled the record victory in the competition, though Liverpool would soon eclipse it. However, the Reds had got off to a less than auspicious start in their Group matches. A 1-1 draw at Porto was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by Marseille and a 2-1 reverse in Istanbul at the hands of Besiktas, leaving their survival hopes precariously poised.
So the reverse fixtures began with Arsenal looking comfortable and Liverpool anything but. The Reds though got down to business, hammering Besiktas 8-0, Porto 4-1 and Marseille 4-0 in an impressive display of strength and purpose.
As for the Gunners, they were held to a goalless draw in Prague, then lost 3-1 to Sevilla on November 27th - their first defeat of the season in any competition. But they rallied to beat Steaua 2-1, though like Liverpool, their earlier stumbles left them as runners-up in their respective Groups (Arsenal behind Sevilla, Liverpool behind Porto).
San Siro Successes
That meant both would face Group winners in the first knockout round, and the draw looked tough when Arsenal came out of the pot with holders AC Milan (Liverpool's conquerors in last season's final) and the Reds were paired with the Rossoneri's city rivals Internazionale, reigning Italian champions and current Serie A leaders.
However, the Premiership clubs did themselves and their League proud, Arsenal defeating Milan 2-0 on aggregate and Liverpool humbling Inter 3-0 over two legs. Both won their away legs at the San Siro in impressive style. And so to this quarter-final meeting against each other. Both squads (and their fans) would probably have preferred continental opposition, if only because that is what European football is all about. But they may need to get used to Premier League opponents if they are to win the tournament.
That is because whoever prevails in this quarter-final may well meet Chelsea in the semis, assuming the Blues can get past Fenerbahce. And whoever wins that semi could find themselves facing Manchester United in the Moscow final - although Roma and Barcelona/Schalke will have something to say about that.
Head-To-Head
This is the 200th meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool in a major competition. So far, Arsenal have won 70, Liverpool have won 80, and 49 have been drawn. They played each other four times last season, the League fixtures producing emphatic home wins (3-0 at he Emirates, 4-1 at Anfield), while Arsenal knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup (1-3) and Carling Cup (3-6), both at Anfield.
Arsene Wenger leads Rafa Benitez in the head-to-heads with five wins to Rafa's three; the only draw was the 1-1 earlier this season at Anfield.
The two clubs have never met before in European competition. Arsenal have played one other English club at home in a European match, and that was four years ago, when they lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea at this same stage of the Champions League, going out on aggregate after having drawn at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have played another English club on six previous occasions away from home in European competition - and are yet to win.
Discipline
Gael Clichy, Denilson, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal) and Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Fabio Aurelio (Liverpool) will miss the second leg of this tie if they are shown a yellow card at the Emirates.
Expert View
Former Liverpool legend Alan Hansen, now a BBC pundit, expects his old club to go through after two very tight games, citing momentum and confidence as huge factors in football, and saying Liverpool have more of it in this competition than Arsenal.
Hansen said on the BBC Sport website: "Arsenal have been struggling and have been in freefall, despite a great result against AC Milan in the San Siro in the last 16, but they came back from real adversity at the weekend and it would be foolish to discount them."
He described their comeback at Bolton as "a performance that showed real reserves of character, given their recent form."
But he said Liverpool are a team "built for the Champions League," saying they "proved it again against Inter Milan in the last round. They were very solid, good on the counter-attack and will fancy their chances against Arsenal.
"Arsenal have huge ability and they will hope their big players demonstrate it against Liverpool, but Emmanuel Adebayor has gone off the boil recently and even Cesc Fabregas has not been playing as well as he was.
"They have struggled defensively and opponents will note how they cracked under pressure against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after holding the lead going into the last 20 minutes.
"Arsenal will take great heart from what happened at The Reebok on Saturday - but Liverpool will be a different proposition to Bolton. Liverpool are my favourites to go through because the Champions League really seems to suit them. It is a more cautious, tactical approach and they have a cautious manager in Rafael Benitez.
"This is not in any way a negative comment about Benitez. He simply has a way of playing that suits the Champions League, as Liverpool's recent record in the competition proves, and that is good management.
"Liverpool will get men behind the ball at Arsenal and they will be delighted the second leg is at Anfield, where the crowd will be such a factor. I expect this to be a very tight affair, more of a slog than pretty football. The away goal is more important now than when I played, in fact, it is hugely important, but make no mistake, if you offered Benitez 0-0 now he would bite your hand off."
Meanwhile, in the build-up to the match, players on both sides have been asked to comment and predictably their responses to the journalists have been blown up into banner headlines that suggest arrogant over-confidence when in fact a circumspect, honest opinion was offered.
Thus "Toure Says Liverpool Are Scared Of Arsenal" and "Gerrard Says Arsenal Should Fear Us" have made good copy but generated more heat than light. The fact is that both these teams, the managers and even the supporters, have huge respect for one another. There is little of the hostility or bitterness that flavours matches between either of them and Manchester United or Chelsea, but that does not mean this trilogy of matches will not be very keenly contested, with no quarter asked or given.
FORM GUIDE
Last Six Matches - All Competitions
Arsenal
29 Mar (Premier League) v Bolton (A) WON 3-2
23 Mar (Premier League) v Chelsea (A) LOST 1-2
16 Mar (Premier League) v Middlesbrough (H) DREW 1-1
09 Mar (Premier League) v Wigan (A) DREW 0-0
04 Mar (Champions League) v AC Milan (A) WON 2-0
01 Mar (Premier League) v Aston Villa (H) DREW 1-1
Liverpool
30 Mar (Premier League) v Everton (H) WON 1-0
23 Mar (Premier League) v Man Utd (A) LOST 0-3
15 Mar (Premier League) v Reading (H) WON 2-1
11 Mar (Champions League) v Inter Milan (A) WON 1-0
08 Mar (Premier League) v Newcastle (H) WON 3-0
05 Mar (Premier League) v West Ham (H) WON 4-0
Champions League 2007-08
Arsenal
Third Qualifying Round : 1 v Sparta Prague (A) WON 2-0
Third Qualifying Round : 2 v Sparta Prague (H) WON 3-0
Group H Matchday 1 v Sevilla (H) WON 3-0
Group H Matchday 2 v Steaua (A) WON 1-0
Group H Matchday 3 v Slavia Prague (H) WON 7-0
Group H Matchday 4 v Slavia Prague (A) DREW 0-0
Group H Matchday 5 v Sevilla (A) LOST 1-3
Group H Matchday 6 v Steaua (H) WON 2-1
First Knockout Round : 1 v AC Milan (H) DREW 0-0
First Knockout Round : 2 v AC Milan (A) WON 2-0
Liverpool
Third Qualifying Round : 1 v Toulouse (A) WON 1-0
Third Qualifying Round : 2 v Toulouse (H) WON 4-0
Group A Matchday 1 v Porto (A) DREW 1-1
Group A Matchday 2 v Marseille (H) LOST 0-1
Group A Matchday 3 v Besiktas (A) LOST 1-2
Group A Matchday 4 v Besiktas (H) WON 8-0
Group A Matchday 5 v Porto (H) WON 4-1
Group A Matchday 6 v Marseille (A) WON 4-0
First Knockout Round : 1 v Inter Milan (H) WON 2-0
First Knockout Round : 2 v Inter Milan (A) WON 1-0
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor is set to start after being rested for Saturday's game at Bolton. Midfielder Abou Diaby is available because his suspension after being sent off in that match does not apply to European football.
Last Starting XI (v Bolton): Arsenal: Almunia, Toure, Senderos (Walcott 59), Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Diaby, Bendtner (Adebayor 60), Van Persie (Justin Hoyte 90). Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Eboue.
Squad: Arsenal (from): Almunia, Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Walcott, van Persie, Adebayor, Lehmann, Diaby, Bendtner, Hoyte, Senderos, Gilberto, Denilson.
Liverpool
Midfielder Javier Mascherano is likely to return to the side after serving a one-game suspension. Defenders Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio are also back in the squad after recovering from injuries.
Last Starting XI (v Everton): Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Riise, Lucas, Gerrard (Crouch 90), Alonso, Babel (Benayoun 82), Torres (Pennant 89), Kuyt. Subs Not Used: Itandje, Finnan.
Squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Riise, Aurelio, Babel, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt, Voronin, Crouch, Torres, Pennant, Lucas, Itandje.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
While Cesc Fabregas will provide the Gunners' main creative impetus, and his midfield battle with Javier Mascherano will probably be pivotal, it will be goals that decide the tie, and Arsenal will be looking to Dutchman Robin van Persie, a player with the big game temperament, to deliver after returning to full fitness from the knee injury sustained while on international duty with Holland last October. Van Persie has scored eight goals despite restricted appearances, and now has 42 in his Arsenal career. Emmanuel Adebayor, likely to partner him in attack against Liverpool, has 39 to his credit - 23 of them scored this season.
Liverpool
It has to be Fernando Torres at the moment, the striker who is in electric form and whose partnership with midfielder Steven Gerrard has proved dazzlingly productive in recent weeks. Torres now has 28 goals to his account this season, and Gerrard 19, with the pair of them scoring nine times in Europe. Torres has been praised from all quarters this week, deservedly so, and is flourishing as the main striker in Benitez's more settled side. His pace could trouble the Arsenal defence, and the Spaniard will undoubtedly provide the main goal threat to the Gunners.
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