After winning their respective first legs away from home, the three Premier League clubs in the Champions League last 16 are looking to ensure that England is well-represented in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal already have one foot and four toes in the last eight, while Aston Villa haven’t quite got the job done yet and Liverpool hold the slenderest of advantages.
Here, we take a look at some notable numbers ahead of what we hope will be another riveting couple of nights of action in Europe’s top club competition.
Liverpool (1) v (0) PSG | Can Reds take control?
Following their smash-and-grab 1-0 victory after surviving a PSG onslaught in the first leg in Paris, Liverpool will be hoping to get the job done in more comfortable fashion at Anfield and secure a third Champions League quarter-final appearance in four years.
Arne Slot’s side faced a whopping 27 shots last week at the Stade de France, where substitute Harvey Elliott scored their 87th-minute winner with his very first touch of the ball.
You’d expect the Reds to find themselves less under the cosh on Merseyside, and they have restricted their opponents to fewer than 10 shots in six of their last seven home games in all competitions.
Arsenal (7) v (1) PSV | Will Gunners break another record?
Arsenal sent records tumbling in their devastating 7-1 first-leg thrashing of PSV in the Netherlands, and they could make more Champions League history in the second leg at the Emirates.
The competition’s biggest-ever aggregate win is in the Gunners’ sights. Bayern Munich currently hold that honour thanks to their 12-1 last-16 victory over Sporting Lisbon in 2009, so another six-goal winning margin would do the job.
And the last time Arsenal scored six at home was in the Champions League – Mikel Arteta’s team thumped Lens 6-0 in last season’s group stage, when they also beat PSV 4-0 in North London.
Aston Villa (3) v (1) Club Brugge | Are Villa about to hit 42-year high?
Having defied their poor away form to defeat Club Brugge 3-1 in the first leg in Belgium, Aston Villa are eyeing their first Champions League / European Cup quarter-final since 1983 – when they reached the last eight as reigning champions of Europe.
Villa’s last major continental quarter-final appearance was in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, when they won the second leg 2-1 at home to Atletico Madrid but went out on away goals.
This time, however, with a two-goal cushion, no more away goals rule and their formidable form at Villa Park – where they’re 15 unbeaten and have only lost once in Europe under Unai Emery – Villa appear well-placed to give their fans cause for raucous celebration.
