Wednesday, 9 March 2016
MIKEL, SALAH, MOSES: AFRICANS TO WATCH IN MIDWEEK
John Obi Mikel has been solid in midfield for
Chelsea, and it seems the Nigerian is ahead of
Nemanja Matic in the pecking order for this
season. He will need to have all cylinders firing
against Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti
and Blaise Matuidi when they clash at Stamford
Bridge in the week's big game on Thursday.
Chelsea are walking into this encounter on the
back foot and Paris Saint-Germain only need
one goal to seal progression to the Uefa
Champions League quarter-finals. An away goal
from Mikel is the only slim hope the Blues have
of turning the tie on its head. Bertrand Traore
was on the scoresheet this weekend, and could
feature against the Ligue 1 side, following his
recent showings for Guus Hiddink’s side.
Abdul Rahman Baba has come on leaps leaps
and bounds since his introduction to the Chelsea
first team, and on Wednesday he could well
feature, particularly with John Terry absent.
Stamford Bridge will not be a friendly venue for
a side that dashed the London club's hopes in
last season’s competition. Baba certainly held
his own during the first leg in Paris, and he will
hope to do the same on Wednesday night.
Roma have the thankless task of going to the
Santiago Bernabeau trailing Real Madrid 2-0.
This Champions League match has all the
makings of a one-sided affair, with Los Blancos
coming into this encounter on the back of 7-1
thumping over Celta Vigo. Mohamed Salah and
his team will have their work cut out for them
when they meet Zinedine Zidane's resurgent
outfit.
Hull City frustrated Arsenal in the 0-0 draw at
the Emirates last month, and the Championship
side will look to put up a fight in the FA Cup
replay at the KC Stadium. Mohamed Diame was
a solid anchor in midfield in the first leg, and
has been repaying the faith of Steve Bruce. If
the Tigers are to seal progression, he will need
to make his presence felt in the middle of the
park.
Gent travel to Wolfsburg with the hope of
securing a spot in the Champions League
quarter-finals. Despite a shaky first-half
showing, Nana Asare put in a solid display in
the second stanza, although the German outfit
claimed a 3-2 win in the first leg. Hein
Vanhaezebrouck’s charges will need to be at
their best at both ends if they are to become the
first-ever Belgian side in the quarter-finals.
Wolfsburg will do themselves an injustice if
they underestimate the attacking force of Gent,
and Moses Simon needs to be firmly under the
watchful eye of the German defence as the
Wolves look to see through their passage to the
final eight. The Nigerian winger has been a
consistent figure in the Belgian side and could
be the catalyst for an upset on Tuesday night.
Likely to start as a substitute, Kalifa Coulibaly
offers Gent a potent attacking threat from the
bench. Having scored a late goal in the first leg
of the Champions League encounter to make it
3-2, the Malian forward will be crucial in
securing Gent’s passage to the quarter-final
stage.
Arsenal shift their focus to the FA Cup on
Tuesday night when they travel to Hull City for
their fifth-round replay. The Gunners come into
this clash winless in their last four games and
need to put in a performance to win back the
support of their fans. Mohamed Elneny started
in the Gunners’ 2-2 draw with Tottenham
Hotspur over the weekend and is likely to
maintain his spot, especially with the suspension
to Francis Coquelin.
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