Arsenal?s (from left) Fredik Ljungberg, Phillipe Senderos and Thierry Henry during a training session in London on Tuesday, ahead of their Champions League match against Bayern Munich at Highbury. (AFP)

Madrid: Real Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane believes his side are in a much stronger position going into the second leg of their Champions League knock-out round clash with Juventus than they were two years ago.

In the 2003 semi-final Real beat the Italians 2-1 in the first leg only to lose 1-3 in the return in Turin.

This time the nine-time European champions go into the second leg holding a 1-0 advantage after the first game at the Bernabeu.

?We are in a better position this time round than two years ago, because Juve haven?t scored an away goal,? the Frenchman told a news conference on Monday. ?We will go there with the aim of scoring and that will make life difficult for them.

?They have to come out and attack and that is much better for us because the game will be more open. The important thing for us will be to match their strong start and to do that we will have to be very alert.

?But if half an hour goes by and they don?t score then I?m convinced we will go on to score and win.?

Zidane has missed Real?s last two league games because of a groin injury, but insisted that he was fully recovered and ready to face his old side.

Real captain Raul and England striker Michael Owen were both back in full training after recovering from illness and were included in the squad for the trip to Turin.

The line-up in training suggested that Raul will partner Ronaldo in attack, while Owen will start on the bench.

Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez will rely on Dietmar Hamann?s knowledge of German football to ensure his side do not suffer more Champions League woe at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool, who lost 2-4 at the Bayer Arena in the 2002 quarter finals to go out of the competition, take a 3-1 lead into the second leg on Wednesday.

?I will talk with Didi Hamann because he knows better than others the mentality of the German teams,? Benitez told reporters on Tuesday.

?We will talk about how they will play in the first 20 minutes, their style and their tempo because Didi will know these things better than me.?

Liverpool?s Premiership rivals Arsenal have a much difficult task as they take on Bayern Munich at home on Wednesday. The defence is their major worry as the side have been shorn of injured centre back Sol Campbell since February 1 and without him they have looked suspect at the back, conceding three goals in the first leg of the first knock-out round in Munich.

A late goal by Kolo Toure gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope ? a 1-3 deficit means they can win 2-0 at Highbury and progress ? yet they are a shadow of the side which went through the last league season unbeaten.

Despite the obvious problems, manager Arsene Wenger remains confident. ?Wednesday?s game will be more about mental strength. We must regroup, relax and show resilience,? said Wenger. ?I?m sure we can do it.? (Reuters)