Just two matches are left in the 2014-15 Champions League Round of 16 first leg, as Arsenal prepare to host AS Monaco at the Emirates Stadium and Atletico Madrid travel to Germany to play Bayer Leverkusen.
The Ligue 1 side will meet a familiar face on Wednesday in former manager Arsene Wenger and beat the Gunners during pre-season, but a rash of injuries will impact their chances of upsetting an in-form Arsenal squad.
Last year's finalists Atletico recovered from a disappointing loss against Celta Vigo with a big win over Almeria, and they'll be confident they can get a strong result against a struggling Bayer Leverkusen side. The full schedule for the final day of first-leg action:
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Arsenal v AS Monaco
Monaco conceded just a single goal throughout the group stages and have been in impeccable form defensively in the French league. Their objective on Wednesday is simple—defend from the opening whistle and break forward with numbers.
Under normal circumstances, such a tactic would be very difficult to break down against a team coached by Leonardo Jardim. But injuries to a handful of key performers could spell disaster for the visitors, per BeIN Sports' Matt Spiro:
Star midfielder Jeremy Toulalan will be suspended for the first leg, while the team's main attacking threat, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, is not 100 percent fit coming into the match.
All of this is excellent news for the Gunners, although Wenger refuses to grow complacent ahead of the tie, via the club's official Twitter feed:
The French manager is well aware of the significance of the match, given Monaco is where he started his storied career:
Without Toulalan there to launch the counter-attack and Ferreira-Carrasco possibly hobbled, expect the French squad to dig in even deeper and play for a positive result heading into the return leg.
It will be up to Mesut Ozil and his incisive passing to break down one of Europe's best defensive units, and star forwards Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez can't afford to miss any chances.
Monaco's absentees should push this tie in favour of the Gunners, however.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Monaco
Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid's 2-0 loss against Celta Vigo was ugly. Diego Simeone's players seemed disinterested in playing the game and were overrun in midfield, deservedly slumping to a one-sided loss.
One week later, the La Liga champions put those struggles behind them and comfortably beat Almeria. With momentum back in their corner, they now face Bayer Leverkusen at just the right time, per ESPN FC's Joseph Cassinelli:
Not only are the Atleti high on confidence once again—Bayer are arguably at one of the lowest points of their season. Their last five Bundesliga matches have yielded just a single win, including two losses.
Their last outing was a 2-2 draw against Augsburg, in which they surrendered the most demoralising last-minute equaliser you might ever see:
Bayer didn't convince during the group stages, barely surviving what looked to be a fairly easy group, and with momentum on the Spanish side, they could be in for a long evening.
DW Sports' Ross Dunbar doesn't like their chances:
Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann are hitting their form at just the right time, and while Arda Turan has been hobbled all week and could potentially miss out on the clash, Atletico should have little trouble against a solid, but not great Leverkusen squad.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Atletico Madrid
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