Big guns facing tests of nerve

Reina save
Five-time winners Liverpool will be looking to improve on their initial showing against Belgian champions R. Standard de Liège at Anfield on Wednesday after relying on Pepe Reina's penalty save from Dante Bonfim to secure a goalless draw in the away leg. While the Reds target a fifth straight qualification, László Bölöni hopes to make history by becoming the first coach to guide Standard into the group stage, some 22 years after he won Europe's élite club competition as a player with Steaua.

Slight advantage
Bölöni's former club hold a slight advantage against Galatasaray having held the Turkish title holders to a 2-2 draw in Istanbul, yet the momentum should be with Michael Skibbe's men who recovered from a dreadful start to level matters through Shabani Nonda's two goals. Three more former winners will be expected to reach the last 32, although Olympique de Marseille – victorious in 1992/93 – still have work to do after defeating SK Brann narrowly in Norway a fortnight ago.

Tuesday action
FC Barcelona and Juventus are both in action on Tuesday and should not encounter too many problems after prevailing 4-0 against Wisła Kraków and FC Artmedia Petržalka respectively. In Tuesday's other game Panathinaikos FC will defend a 2-1 advantage at home to AC Sparta Praha.

Large stride
FC Dynamo Kyiv also have a strong grip on their tie with FC Spartak Moskva following a 4-1 success in Russia, while Arsenal FC have already taken a large stride towards the next round by triumphing 2-0 at FC Twente. Schalke, meanwhile, take a one-goal cushion to Club Atlético de Madrid in arguably the tie of the round, although the Spanish outfit are unlikely to be lacking motivation at the Vicente Calderón as they strive to qualify for the first time in 12 years.

Historic firsts
Elsewhere, Cyprus and Belarus can be optimistic of having their first representatives in the group stage after FC BATE Borisov won their first leg 1-0 away to PFC Levski Sofia and Anorthosis Famagusta FC defeated Olympiacos CFP 3-0. The task facing FBK Kanuas is more daunting with the Lithuanian champions needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Aalborg BK.

Close contests
Among the 13 ties taking place on Wednesday, ACF Fiorentina and FC Shakhtar Donetsk take two-goal leads to SK Slavia Praha and NK Dinamo Zagreb respectively, Fenerbahçe SK and FK Partizan begin tied at 2-2 following the first leg in Serbia, while FC Basel 1893 entertain Vitória SC with the contest deadlocked at 0-0.