PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal

Champions League first knock-out round, first leg
Date: Tuesday 20 February
Kick off: 1945

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be forced into a defensive reshuffle with both right-backs Emmanuel Eboue and Justin Hoyte not travelling to Holland.

Eboue has an ankle knock and Hoyte has a hamstring problem, meaning Johan Djourou should start at full-back.

Midfielder Alexander Hleb returns from a virus, but Theo Walcott is left out.

PSV Eindhoven striker Jefferson Farfan is a major doubt with a foot injury but right-back Jan Kromkamp should be fit despite missing training on Monday.

The injuries to Eboue and Hoyte could mean that William Gallas will start in the Arsenal defence in only his second game back from his lengthy lay-off.

Wenger said: "We have Eboue out and Hoyte is out with a hamstring problem, but he should be back for [the Carling Cup Final on] Sunday.

"Gallas has responded well to the weekend game [against Blackburn] and he is in the squad. It will be Johan Djourou or Gallas at right back."

Hleb missed Saturday's 0-0 draw with Blackburn with the flu but should start in midfield in place of Walcott who was substituted in the second half of that match.

Wenger added: "Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby have been left behind with Sunday in mind."

For PSV, Farfan's injury will give starts to Brazil's Diego Tardelli and Ivory Coast's Aruna Kone up front.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Clichy, Gallas, Toure, Djourou, Rosicky, Gilberto, Fabregas, Hleb, Adebayor, Henry; Almunia, Senderos Ljungberg, Baptista, Denilson, Flamini, Aliadiere.

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE OPPOSITION

Who are they? One of Dutch football's big three, along with Ajax and Feyenoord, and the team to beat at the moment, having won the last two Eredivisie titles.

Recent form: Have gone off the boil following winter break. While they remain top of the table, PSV have won just once in their last four outings, a 2-0 weekend win at struggling Heracles.

They have lost just twice at home in the last year and, prior to Christmas, were beaten just twice in 26, both in the Champions League to Bordeaux and Liverpool.

European record: The club dubbed 'The Farmers' won the Uefa Cup in 1978 and the European Cup in 1988. They won that title under Guus Hiddink, who worked wonders when he returned as coach in 2002 and guided them to the 2005 semi-final before quitting at the end of last season.

How did they get here? Hiddink bowed out of life as PSV boss with another Dutch championship, which ensured a 10th consecutive Champions League campaign. They finished second in their group behind Liverpool after losing to the Reds and then Bordeaux in a meaningless final game.

Ones to watch: Check out the touchline where managers Ronald Koeman and Arsene Wenger have a bit of previous after the Frenchman disparaged the Dutchman's boring tactics when he was at Ajax and they met in the Champions League. Between his times in Holland, Koeman masterminded the downfall of Manchester United and Liverpool as Benfica boss, so tactically he knows his stuff. In a multi-national squad, Peruvian Jefferson Farfan is the main danger in attack alongside Ivory Coast striker Arouna Kone.

Did you know? Leading scorer Farfan got back to doing what he does best with his 16th goal of the season at the weekend after hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent weeks. On the pitch he struck out at an opponent with an elbow in a defeat at Roda and off it he had to fly back to his homeland for a paternity test. His mother said: "Jefferson will embrace the baby once the heat is off."

They say: "I think we have taken a major step forward. We did not perform as well as we did in the first period of the campaign, but I think we will see our players back on form soon."Ronald Koeman, PSV coach, following the weekend win

BIG MATCH STATS

Definitions of terms used:-

Champions League (CL) - only group phase matches and beyond of this competition which began in 1992-93.

Champions Cup/Champions League - all matches played since it began in 1955-56 including qualification matches.European matches - all matches played in the major European tournaments (Fairs Cup, Uefa Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, Champions Cup, Champions League).

Uefa Super Cups, Intertoto Cups and the old Intercontinental Cup competition are excluded.

Head-to-heads

PSV and Arsenal have met each other four times, all in the Champions League, resulting in two Arsenal wins and two draws.

In the 2002-03 Champions League group phase, Arsenal beat PSV 4-0 in Eindhoven through goals by Gilberto Silva, Fredrik Ljungberg and two from Thierry Henry. Gilberto Silva found the back of the net after 20 seconds. It still ranks as the fastest goal ever scored in the CL. PSV scored only one goal in the four previous meetings. Andre Ooijer netted in the 1-1 draw on 24 November 2004. Arsenal had two players sent off in that encounter - Lauren and Patrick Vieira.
European history

PSV won the Uefa Cup in 1977-78 and the Champions Cup in 1987-88. This season the Dutch club made it past the group phase for the third year in a row, after eight unsuccessful attempts.

This is their 11th Champions League campaign, and their 38th in European competition.

Arsenal's best result in the CL is reaching the final of last year's competition, when they lost 1-2 to Barcelona. The Gunners have won two European trophies: the 1970 Fairs Cup and the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup. They are making their ninth appearance in the CL main competition and their seventh consecutively.

Current European form

PSV qualified from Group C with 10 points from six matches. They lost their last two Champions League matches, and scored only six goals in the first round group phase. Only Internazionale scored fewer goals (five) from all the teams that qualified for the second round.

Arsenal won Group G with 11 points from six matches. They are unbeaten in three CL games, but have not managed to score a single goal in each of their last two away in the competition.

Player and disciplinary info

Carlos Salcido (PSV) and Alexandr Hleb (Arsenal) will be suspended if booked.

Arouna Kone is PSV's top scorer in the current CL season with two goals. All seven of Arsenal's goals this season have been scored by different players. Jens Lehmann is the only Arsenal player to have played every minute of the CL campaign this season.

Other miscellaneous facts

This is PSV's 75th CL match. No other Dutch club has played that many - Ajax are on 72.
It's Arsenal's 100th match in the Champions Cup/Champions League. They will become the 22nd club to reach this milestone. Real Madrid lead with 297 appearances. The Gunners have conceded 99 goals in their 99 previous encounters.

Big Match Stats source: Infostrada Sports

From : BBC Sports - Football