Champions League preview
Also in Group D action on Tuesday night are Juventus, who entertain Deportivo La Coruna, with all four teams having accrued three points prior to Christmas.
In Group C, Real Madrid can take a giant stride towards the quarter finals when they welcome FC Porto to Santiago Bernabeu, while Sparta Prague host Panathinaikos.
Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
The Gunners have lost their last six away games in Europe and will have to smash that jinx with a severely depleted defence as Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Matthew Upson and Lee Dixon are all injured, while Oleg Luzhny is suspended.
Arsene Wenger does have Lauren back from international duty to bolster his ranks and Giovanni van Bronckhorst is likely to be asked to fill in at left back.
Thierry Henry has scored six goals in the Champions League this season but none have been on his travels. He scored the last time Arsenal won away from Highbury in a 1-0 triumph at Lyon this time last year and the French ace is 9/2 to open the scoring.
Bayer Leverkusen have enjoyed mixed results in the second phase thus far, bouncing back from a 4-0 defeat at Juventus in their opening tussle to crush Deportivo 3-0 at the BayArena.
They will be without key figure Carsten Ramelow and he is expected to be replaced by Boris Zivkovic, while Diego Placente and Lucio are available after suspension.
The much-coveted Michael Ballack has scored in his last two home outings in Europe and is 6/1 to set Bayer on their away.
Juventus v Deportivo
The Turin giants returned to the Serie A summit at the weekend and they are starting to hit peak form at just the right time, making them dangerous contenders for the Champions League during spring.
David Trezeguet (7/2 to score first) is the competition's top scorer with eight goals and he has scored in each of The Old Lady's four fixtures at Stadio Delle Alpi, which they have won.
Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Birindelli are suspended for the clash, while Nicola Amoruso, Igor Tudor and Marcelo Salas are injured.
Deportivo drew 0-0 in Turin last season and would settle for a similar result this time around with only one away win under their belts this term - the 3-2 victory at Manchester United.
Coach Javier Irureta is tipped to ring the changes for the clash, with Juan Valeron, Diego Tristan, Lionel Scaloni and Joan Capdevila anticipated to make way for Djalminha, Roy Makaay, Hector and Romero.
Real Madrid v FC Porto
Vicente Del Bosque's team boast the only 100 percent record in the second group phase following a 3-2 success in Sparta Prague and a 3-0 home mauling of Panathinaikos.
The Spanish titans have entertained Porto four times at The Bernabeu and have been triumphant on each occasion, although this time they will be without the injured Raul.
Their Liga form has been dire of late with a solitary win in six but Fernando Morientes grabbed an incredible five goals against Las Palmas recently.
Porto have yet to score in the second round and cannot afford to lose in the Spanish capital if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
They have a new coach in Jose Mourinho, who has presided over four straight league wins.
Benni McCarthy is cup-tied for the former European Cup winners and Rafael and Pedro Espinha are out but Mourinho has Carlos Secretario and Miran Pavlin available.
Sparta Prague v Panathinaikos
The Czech Republic outfit have been this season's surprise package in the Champions League and three points against the Greeks would leave them in a handy position to achieve a berth in the last eight - something that would have been an implausible thought at the start of the season.
Though they lost to Real Madrid at home, they ground out an excellent 1-0 win over Porto before the break.
Sparta are without three players for the contest with Zdenek Grygera, Pavel Mares and Radin Holub missing.
Panathinaikos, like Porto, have a new man at the helm since the Champions League was paused with former Paraguay coach Sergio Markarian taking over.
The Greeks have yet to score in the second round and only have a 0-0 draw at home to Porto to show for their endeavours. They have also lost their last three away ties in Europe.
Remember you can place bets right up to kick-off with our official betting partner, Ladbrokes. By checking the teams as they come in on our live scorecentre, you can ensure your selection is in the starting line-up, and possibly take advantage of any last minute changes. Click here to bet.
