Liverpool and Manchester City must find a way to break down their opponents on Thursday to advance in the Europa League after both settled for 0-0 draws away from home last week.
For Liverpool, which hosts Sparta Prague, winning the competition is the only realistic chance of ending a dismal season with a trophy. The Reds are out of both domestic cup competitions and sit sixth in the Premier League standings.
"We've got to win the game tomorrow night first. We don't need to run too fast," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said Wednesday. "Sparta are a difficult side to break down, that was shown last week. I don't think they will be too different to what they were, but hopefully we will be different."
Dalglish won't be taking any risks on the fitness of captain Steven Gerrard, who has missed the last two matches with a groin injury.
While Sparta looked more threatening than Liverpool last week, the Czech side is expecting a tougher match at Anfield.
"The system of our play will change," Sparta coach Josef Chovanec said. "Liverpool will surely be more active, aggressive."
Man City, which faces Greek club Aris and hasn't won a title since the 1976 English League Cup, is third in the Premier League and still in the FA Cup.
Four other matches are also level: Villarreal was held to a 0-0 draw at Napoli, Rangers drew 1-1 at home with Sporting Lisbon, Paris Saint-Germain salvaged a 2-2 draw at BATE Borisov and Lille was held by PSV Eindhoven by the same score.
Lille heads to the Netherlands after Montpellier inflicted the French league leader's first domestic loss in four months on Sunday.
Only 1,000 Lille fans are expected to travel but a high security operation is expected after PSV fans clashed with riot police in France.
Eindhoven mayor Rob van Gijzel has given police emergency powers, including outlawing the carrying of glass or other potential weapons around Philips Stadium.
Bayer Leverkusen is in the strongest position to advance after winning 4-0 at Metalist Kharkiv, while Dynamo Kiev also scored four away goals last week to give it a 4-1 lead over Besiktas. FC Twente holds a 2-0 lead over Rubin Kazan and Dutch rival Ajax has 3-0 cushion against Anderlecht.
But others are closer. Benfica travels to Stuttgart with a 2-1 lead, but the Portuguese side hasn't won at a German club in 18 attempts. Zenit St. Petersburg must overturn a 2-1 loss at Young Boys, Spartak Moscow leads FC Basel 3-2, and Lech Poznan takes a 1-0 lead to Braga after Artjoms Rudnevs' fifth goal in this season's competition.
"He's a very talented player and always willing to learn," Lech Poznan coach Jose Mari Bakero said. "I wouldn't discourage him thinking about a possible move away. In fact, I'm delighted about the gossip saying a lot of clubs want him ... if so many clubs want Rudnevs, it means he's playing very well thanks, at least in part, to my influence as coach."
