Champions League Round of 16

[BangTheBook]

Champions League Round of 16 action gets underway on Tuesday as Liverpool hosts Inter Milan. It is a tough turnaround for Liverpool as they are coming off a shocking loss to lower-league club Barnsley in the FA Cup. Although Liverpool is at home they face the best team in the Italian League in the first leg on Tuesday. Inter Milan will present a severe test for a Liverpool team that is now playing to save their season and probably the job of manager Rafa Benitez.

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It was expected that Liverpool would make a run at the Premier League title this season but they are already out of contention sitting 19 points back of Arsenal. Liverpool has won nothing this season and now may not even qualify for the Champions League next season. Benitez is under fire after the shocking loss to Barnsley. He rested Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano. Liverpool is owned by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. who are not happy with the job Benitez has done. The Champions League is the last chance for Liverpool to save the season. It will not be easy against Inter who is 11 points clear in Serie A. Inter is on a 23 match unbeaten streak in Serie A action. They seem to be taking the Champions League seriously as Julio Cruz was rested Saturday along with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. "The Serie A title isn't clinched yet, but now we're starting another (title race), because playing in Italy and Europe is different," Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar said. "We haven't won this cup in a long time and we miss it."

Other Soccer Betting Champions League action has Arsenal hosting defending champion AC Milan on Wednesday. Arsenal will try and bounce back from a disappointing performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup. "The targets now in front are now are very clear - it's the championship and the Champions League," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We are not in a position where we need to make a choice. We need to pick ourselves up quickly because we have a massive game on Wednesday night." AC Milan is not at full strength as they are missing Ronaldo. Goalkeepers Zeljko Kalac and Dida are also questionable.

Other Champions League action on Tuesday has Olympiakos vs. Chelsea; AS Roma vs. Real Madrid; and Schalke vs. FC Porto. The other matches on Wednesday have Celtic vs. FC Barcelona; Fenerbahce vs. Sevilla; and Lyon vs. Manchester United.