The first legs of the Champions League first KO phase matches will be played next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Three of the five British representatives are facing difficult tasks after they failed to win their respective groups.

The trio will play the first leg at home in line with the competition regulations. Champions League finalists Liverpool take on Italian champions and current Serie A leaders Inter, Arsenal, who also contested the final two seasons ago, host cup holders Milan while Celtic will have another go at Barcelona.

Group winners Chelsea and Manchester United, who start their KO commitments away, must be confident of progressing to the quarter-finals. The Londoners duel with Greek champions Olympiakos while the Red Devils square up to French League winners Olympique Lyon.

For the second year running, there are five British clubs at the start of the Champions League KO stage.

Last season, only Celtic finished second in their group while the quartet of English clubs advanced as group winners. From the four English clubs who were away in the first legs, only one fell by the wayside as follows:

Porto-Chelsea 1-1, 1-2.
PSV-Arsenal 1-0, 1-1.
Barcelona-Liverpool 1-2, 1-0.
Lille-Man. United 0-1, 0-1.

Club scorers throughout the group phase read:

5 - Ronaldo (Manchester United).
4 - Drogba (Chelsea); Gerrard (Liverpool).
3 - Fabregas (Arsenal); Crouch, Torres, Benayoun, Babel (Liverpool); Rooney (Manchester United).
2 - Eduardo, Van Persie, Bendtner, Walcott (Arsenal); Cole J. (Chelsea); Kuyt (Liverpool); Pique, Tevez (Manchester United), Adam (Rangers);
1 - Diaby, Hleb (Arsenal); Malouda, Shevchenko, Alex (Chelsea); Jarosik, Donati, McGeady, McManus, McDonald (Celtic); Ferdinand (Man. United); Ferguson, McCulloch, Cousin, Beasley, Darcheville (Rangers)
Own goal - Arsenal (1).

Last 16 exits

Arsenal won their three home matches convincingly and it was only the 1-3 away setback in Seville that cost them top spot in the group. Milan also lost once, against Celtic away.

What should hearten Arsenal is that the winners of the trophy in the last three seasons were all eliminated in the Last 16 stage in their defence of the silverware.

2006: Barcelona to Liverpool.
2005: Liverpool to Benfica.
2004: Porto to Inter.

Arsenal have a positive record against Italian sides. The list of results between Arsenal and Italian opponents reads (the Gunners will meet Milan for the first time):

1970-71: (Fairs Cup first round) vs Lazio (away) 2-2, (home) 2-0 (aggregate 4-2).
1979-80: (Cup Winners' Cup semi-final) vs Juventus (home) 1-1, (away) 1-0 (2-1).
1993-94: (Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final) vs Torino (away) 0-0, (home) 1-0 (1-0).
1993-94: (Cup Winners' Cup final in Copenhagen) vs Parma 1-0.
1994-95: (Cup Winners' Cup semi-final) vs Sampdoria (home) 3-2 (away), 2-3 (5-5) - Gunners won tie 3-2 on penalties.
1999-2000: (Champions League group match) vs Fiorentina (away) 0-0, (home at 'Wembley') 0-1 (1pt).
2000-01: (Champions League group match) vs Lazio (home) 2-0 (away), 1-1 (4pts).
2001-02: (Champions League group game) vs Juventus (home) 3-1 (away), 0-1 (3pts).
2002-03: (Champions League group match) vs Roma (away) 3-1, (home) 1-1 (4pts).
2003-04: (Champions League group match) vs Inter (home) 0-3, (away) 5-1 (3pts).
2005-06: (Champions League quarter-final) vs Juventus (home) 2-0 (away), 0-0 (2-0).

From a total of 21 encounters Arsenal won ten, drew seven and lost four.

Second clash

Milan's city rivals Inter will meet Liverpool for only the second time in the competition's history.

The other occasion was in the European Cup semi-finals in 1965. Liverpool, managed by the legendary Bill Shankly, played the Italians three days after they triumphed at Wembley in the FA Cup final.

The Reds entertained Inter at Anfield and won 3-1 on the night. Yet, they were in for an uphill struggle in the return and this was due mostly to a series of dubious decisions by the Spanish referee Ortiz de Mendebil.

The first two goals of Inter's 3-0 victory were both contested by the Liverpool players after controversial decisions by the man in black.

Corso scored straight from an indirect free-kick and De Mendebil pointed to the centre spot and then Peiro struck the ball out of goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence's hands and shot into an empty net to close the tie to 3-3.

Giacinto Facchetti netted a fine goal that sent Inter into the final against Benfica, 4-3 on aggregate - but that is now water under the bridge.

The second leg at the San Siro will not take place before Tuesday, March 11 as Milan, who share the Meazza with Inter, will also play the return match at home.

Celtic will be keen on turning the tables on rivals Barcelona after two seasons ago the Spaniards claimed five points (3-1 away and 1-1 at home) in the group phase matches.

The Hoops, under Gordon Strachan, played Barca four times since 2004 - twice in the Uefa Cup and twice in the Champions League. Celtic lost just one of those encounters.

Seven-time champions

United manager Alex Ferguson has hit back at those who remarked that Lyon will not offer much resistance.

The Scot was right to point out that Lyon have been French champions for the past seven years, adding that this is a remarkable achievement after the number of players they lost in the last few years.

While United dropped only two points on their way to the Last 16, Lyon advanced after their crucial 3-0 win at Ibrox Park against Rangers.

The last occasion United met Lyon was in 2004, when they shared the spoils at the Stade Gerland in the group phase matches and won 2-1 at Old Trafford, where Ruud van Nistelrooy netted the winning goal.

In the past 11 commitments with French sides, Manchester United bowed out on just two occasions. In the 1997-98 Champions League quarter-finals against Monaco, they were edged out only on the away goal rule after an aggregate of 1-1. In 2006, in a group phase tie against Lille, the Red Devils earned a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford and lost 0-1 away.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has a great desire for his club to win their first Champions League title after they failed in their attempts under the renowned Jose Mourinho.

Grant is positive about his chances of providing club owner Roman Abramovich with the continental prize his predecessor Mourinho could not deliver, after Chelsea were drawn with Olympiakos.

The Greek champions who lost only once in the group phase and finished second behind Real Madrid, will face the team with the best defensive record in the competition. The Blues conceded just two goals in six outings.

Chelsea will face Olympiakos for the first time and their only connection with a Greek side came in the first round of the 1970-71 Cup Winners' Cup, beating Aris Salonika 6-2 (away 1-1, home 5-1) on aggregate.