Previews
MON 22.02.2016
Arsenal FC - FC Barcelona
Luis Enrique's Liga BBVA leaders head to the Emirates stadium on the back of a 32-game unbeaten run in all competitions, and on top of that their four wins and two draws from the Champions League group stage mean they have also yet to taste in the defence of their title. Barça travel without the suspended Arda Turan, while Rafinha is injured.
The Gunners, who lie third in the Premier League, boast players such as Petr Cech, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud but only finished second in their qualification group behind Bayern Munich, with three wins and three defeats. Arsene Wenger's men don't have a great record against the Catalans from recent meetings, having been knocked out by them in 2010 and 2011. Keeping tabs on Barça's in-form attacking trio 'MSN' will be their principal concern.
Rakitić: "Having this front three fills me with pride. The rest of us do what we can to make them better." #UCL pic.twitter.com/xftyDDsZPP
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 22, 2016
PSV Eindhoven - Atletico Madrid
Atletico, who are second in the Liga BBVA, will be looking to get some consistency back into their game after some poor results in recent weeks and a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal last weekend. Diego Simeone's men finished top of Group C with four wins, one draw and one defeat after only conceding three times. The Rojiblancos are boosted by the return of Augusto Fernandez but Tiago and Yannick Carrasco are injured.
Phillip Cocu's PSV are leaders in the Eredivisie and finished second in Champions League Group B behind Wolfsburg after three wins, one draw and two defeats. In the only previous meeting between the two sides in the competition, Atletico won 3-0 in Eindhoven and 5-1 on aggregate in the 2008/9 campaign.
. @Augusto24F has been medically discharged and will be available for the @ChampionsLeague. https://t.co/WfmtX7pWAv pic.twitter.com/2f8uJJPp0G
— Atleti English (@atletienglish) February 22, 2016
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