After Tuesday produced a night of surprises, Wednesday offers up a pair of intriguing matches as the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 heats up, so here’s our preview.
Arsenal v FC Barcelona @ Emirates Stadium
Group stage The Gunners came through a relatively simple group stage in second spot in Group H, behind Shakhtar Donetsk but ahead of Braga and Partizan. Arsenal flew out of the blocks with three significant wins to start the group before letting up but finishing the job with a 3-1 win at Partizan.
Barcelona cruised through Group E on top ahead of FC Kobenhavn, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos. The Spaniards enjoyed a 100 per cent home record, while they were held to two draws on the road. Barca’s firepower was on full display, scoring 14 goals with Lionel Messi contributing six of them.
Form Arsenal are currently sitting second in the Premiership, trailing leaders Manchester United by four points. The Gunners have also won seven of their past eight matches in all competitions with Robin van Persie in fine goalscoring form of late. Their stunning 4-4 draw with Newcastle a fortnight ago – when the Gunners lead 4-0 at the break – was a setback but they got back to winning ways on the weekend with an easy 2-0 win over Wolverhampton when it could’ve been more.
The Gunners’ form at the Emirates hasn’t been overly convincing this season, suffering three defeats at home in the league this term. Arsenal, though, haven’t been beaten at home in their past 11 matches in all competitions.
Barcelona are dominating La Liga at the moment following a record sequence of 16 victories in a row in the league. 
Barca’s away record in La Liga this term has been superb and remain undefeated with 10 wins from 11 matches. There’s been no issues with scoring goals on the road either with 37 strikes away from home, compared to 34 at Nou Camp. We shouldn’t forget either last year’s ECL quarter-final tie where Barca drew 2-2 at Arsenal, before winning the return leg 4-1 in Spain.
Team news The good news for the hosts is star midfielder Samir Nasri has been declared fit after a hamstring injury. Abou Diaby is out with a calf injury while Bacary Sagna is suspended, which will bring Emmanuel Eboue in at right-back. Tomas Rosicky will be in the squad too.
The 2009 Champions League winners will be without skipper Carles Puyol who is absent with a knee injury. Jeffren Suarez will also miss the clash due to a thigh problem.
Coaches Arsene Wenger: “We just want to show how good we are. We want to show the belief we have in our game, in our quality, more than looking at the past. We have practised. We are determined, focused and we want to win this competition. We know we face the super-favourites of this competition but the only way to do it is to knock them out.”
Pep Guardiola: “Both teams are playing really well and play attractive football. The common interest of each team is to try and create many chances. They attack more than they defend and I think that’s what both teams will do tomorrow. I think we will see two very good games. I love watching Arsenal play but I don’t like playing against them.”
Sports Pundit prediction; Arsenal 1-2 FC Barcelona
AS Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk @ Stadio Olimpico
Group stage Claudio Ranieri’s Roma qualified in second spot through Group E, where Bayern won the group, with Basel and CFR Cluj missing out. Roma recorded a fantastic win over Bayern at home, but also lost to Basel at the Stadio Olimpico. The Italians conceded 11 goals in the group phase and that’s a concern.
Ukraine champions Shakhtar finished in top spot in Group H beating Arsenal, Braga and Partizan in their group. In fact, 2009 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar recorded five wins and one loss in a fine group phase. The 5-1 loss to Arsenal in London was the low point but besides for that they conceded just one other goal in a solid campaign.
Form AS Roma’s current situation isn’t ideal coming into this clash, with Ranieri under plenty of pressure after sliding down to eighth in Serie A. In their past three league encounters, they have collected just one point and there’s a negative feeling around the club at the moment with their Scudetto hopes scuppered. Roma’s remaining silverware hopes are the ECL and the Coppa Italia where they are in the semi-finals to face Inter.
Shakhtar don’t bring any form into this encounter, following the long winter break in the Ukrainian Premier League. They are top in Ukraine, 19 games into the season with a 12-point break from rivals Dynamo Kiev, but haven’t played a league game since November. Their last official match was their 2-0 Champions League win over Braga at home in December. They have played recent friendlies in Dubai and Spain and will hope to quickly acclimatise to the weather in Italy which is 20 degrees different to Ukraine.
Team news Roma talisman Francesco Totti is still recovering from a minor injury but did get time in the weekend loss to Napoli and should be fit. Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio is out with injury meaning Doni will step in between the goals. David Pizarro is also expected to miss with a knee injury.
Olexandr Kucher will miss this clash after picking up a knee injury playing for Ukraine last week, while Fernandinho won’t be ready despite recently returning to training after breaking his leg last September.
Coaches Claudio Ranieri: “Shakhtar are a big club. A lot of Italian journalists were happy when we got them in the draw in Nyon, but I knew we were up against an excellent team. We will have to play a great match. We take a lot of care when it comes to this competition.”
Mircea Lucescu: “We will be better organised tactically than Roma, even if they have a lot of good players, but we know that the game will be played over 180 minutes and not only 90.”
Sports Pundit prediction; AS Roma 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk