By next Wednesday evening, uniquely, five British clubs could be in the last eight of the European Champions’ Cup. There is still, as they say, a lot of football to be played, but I suppose even the possibility remains testament to the strength at the top of the British club game. Mind you, only a small handful of native British footballers will be marking the occasion by actually participating. In these second-leg ties, important home advantage lies with four of the Brit five. On Tuesday, Liverpool await Barcelona at Anfield in the pick of the games; on the same night in London, Chelsea play Porto; on Wednesday, Arsenal and Manchester United are each at home, respectively to PSV Eindhoven and Lille, while Scottish champions Celtic travel to the daunting San Siro where, after a scoreless match in Glasgow, the strutters of Milan are presuming to put on a festive party.
A defeat by 1-0 in Holland has Arsenal’s continuing campaign also hanging by a delicate thread: how hot and cold they blow.
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