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Milan look for Kaka boost
03/03/2008 10:33 - (SA)
London - Holders AC Milan hope the return of three key players, including World Player of the Year Kaka, will give them the edge over Arsenal and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Milan host the Premier League leaders at the San Siro with
the first knockout round tie awaiting its first goal.
Since the Champions League format was introduced in 1992-93,
no tie in any knockout round has finished goalless after two
legs.
In their search for a goal the European champions are set to
recall Kaka, midfielder Andrea Pirlo and defender Alessandro
Nesta after they missed the weekend Serie A draw with Lazio
through injury.
"Kaka is doing very well, Pirlo and Nesta will certainly be back in time for Tuesday's game," said Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Milan have other injury worries, though, with midfielder
Clarence Seedorf a doubt after suffering a leg muscle strain.
'We are on top'
Milan have complained of fatigue after a punishing schedule
since Christmas but Ancelotti said his side should put their
worries aside.
"I feel a lot of preoccupation around us, but I'm convinced we are on top of the slope," he said.
"We must not think about playing too physically, we will
only have to play our football without worrying."
Arsenal, held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa on Saturday which
cut their lead to one point over Manchester United, could
welcome back Dutch striker Robin van Persie to their squad after
being plagued by injuries for much of the season.
Real Madrid have to overturn a one-goal deficit against AS
Roma on Wednesday if they are to avoid defeat in the first
knockout round for a fourth successive year.
The Italian side, in second place in Serie A, came from
behind to win the first-leg 2-1 but will be without full back
Marco Cassetti who will be sidelined for three weeks with a
shoulder injury.
Boosted
Chelsea welcome Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus to
Stamford Bridge on Wednesday with the tie awaiting its first
goal after a dull stalemate in Athens.
The London club boosted under-fire manager Avram Grant with
a 4-0 away win over West Ham on Saturday. Grant reacted to last
weekend's League Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspur by
accusing the English media of lying about the club.
The Israeli was furious about media reports Chelsea owner
Roman Abramovich was trying to influence team selection, that
Barcelona's Frank Rijkaard was about to take his job and Grant
had lost the support of his employers and confidence of the
players.
Barcelona hold a 3-2 lead over Celtic for their second leg
in Spain, and it will need a huge performance from the Scottish
side on Wednesday to eliminate the 2006 champions.
Celtic have never won away from home in the Champions League
- their 16 previous away games in the competition proper,
excluding qualifying round ties, having produced 15 defeats and
one draw - against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2004.
In other ties on Tuesday, Manchester United and Olympique
Lyon begin all-square at 1-1 at Old Trafford and Fenerbahce take
a 3-2 lead to Spain to face Sevilla, while Porto host Schalke 04
on Wednesday needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat.
The remaining last 16 second leg between Inter Milan and
Liverpool will be played on March 11.
- Reuters
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