Second chance for glory

Disappointments to one side 
Last season Bert van Marwijk's and Matthias Sammer's respective teams put aside the disappointment of bowing out at the first group stage of Europe's top club tournament to contest the UEFA Cup showpiece, where Feyenoord were victorious.

Liverpool's UEFA Cup lifeline 
Now there are eight sides seeking to replicate that resilience and determination - and make the most of their European journeys. Among them are a Liverpool FC team in need of a restorative result after four defeats in five FA Premiership matches which have seen them drop to fourth place in the league.

Owen close to Rush record 
Liverpool won the competition two years ago with a stunning 5-4 victory over Deportivo Alavés, and their chances of advancing to the next stage look good after they came away from Arnhem with a 1-0 triumph over SBV Vitesse a fortnight ago. To add spice to the return leg, Michael Owen is two goals away from equalling Ian Rush's Liverpool scoring record of 26 strikes in Europe.

Positive prospects for Lyon 
Progress to the fourth round might go some way towards erasing the painful memory of Olympique Lyonnais' Champions League exit - they were a single goal away from reaching the second phase. Their prospects look positive after they managed a goalless draw in the first leg against Denizlispor in Turkey.

Difficult task for Brügge 
Panathinaikos FC also look set to join the last 16 following a 2-2 away draw against FC Slovan Liberec while Belgian league leaders Club Brügge KV are left with a difficult task after a 2-1 home defeat by VfB Stuttgart.

French deficits 
AJ Auxerre are poised to recall striker Djibril Cissé to the starting line-up as they bid to overturn a 1-0 deficit against high-flying Real Betis Balompié at the Abbé Deschamps stadium. Another French side, RC Lens, need an incredible comeback after a 3-0 reverse at FC Porto, who took advantage of a series of goalkeeping errors by Guillaume Warmuz. However, Lens should not be written off, having already beaten AC Milan and RC Deportivo La Coruña at home this season.

Maccabi in trouble 
Finally, two other teams that missed out on the Champions League second group stage meet in Israel as Maccabi Haifa FC host AEK Athens in a match that would seem all but decided following AEK's 4-0 home win in Greece.