The Premier League has three participants in the last eight of the Europa League after Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham book their places in dramatic fashion. Fernando Torres and Papiss Cisse are the heroes for the Blues and Magpies respectively, though Spurs almost capitulate at the San Siro, with Emmanuel Adebayor clinching a crucial away goal for the north London outfit.

Newcastle 1 Anzhi 0
Alan Pardew made three alterations from the side that saw off Stoke last Sunday. With Mathieu Debuchy and Yoan Gouffran both ineligible to play in the Europa League, the Magpies boss drafted in Sylvain Marveaux and Massadio Haidara, with the latter fielded at left-back and Davide Santon shifting to the opposite side of the back-four. Vernun Anita took the place of Jonas Gutierrez as Pardew changed formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 after last week’s goalless draw in Russia – intriguingly for Moussa Sissoko’s owners, the Frenchman was deployed on the left of the front three, with Papiss Cisse in the middle and Marveaux on the right. The latter two combined for the last-minute goal that sealed the hosts’ progress, with Cisse mirroring his Stoke display by notching at the death to secure the victory. Yohan Cabaye’s first-half withdrawal somewhat tempered Pardew’s joy, though – the playmaker was forced off on 37 minutes with a recurrence of the groin problem which has hampered him earlier in the season.

Inter 4 Tottenham 1
With his side taking a 3-0 first leg lead to the San Siro, Andres Villas-Boas made four changes from the side that lost 3-2 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. Gareth Bale served a one-match suspension but Emmanuel Adebayor recovered from a knee problem to partner Jermain Defoe up front, while William Gallas, Kyle Naughton and Brad Friedel came in for Michael Dawson, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Hugo Lloris at the back. Ahead of the home clash with Fulham, Adebayor played the full 120 minutes as the match went to extra time, while Defoe was given just 56 minutes before making way for Lewis Holtby when Spurs went 2-0 down. Aaron Lennon recovered from a hamstring injury to make the squad and his introduction on 70 minutes allowed Mousa Dembele to return to the centre after the Belgian had started on the right flank, with Jake Livermore partnering Scott Parker instead. Adebayor’s 96th minute strike ensure the north London side prevailed on away goals, despite the hosts grabbing a late fourth with 10 minutes remaining.

Chelsea 3 Steaua Bucharest 1
Rafa Benitez made four changes from the side that drew at United in the FA Cup on Sunday as his side chased a 1-0 deficit. John Terry came in for Gary Cahill at the back, John Obi Mikel replaced Frank Lampard in the double-pivot, Eden Hazard was preferred to Victor Moses in the attacking midfield three and Fernando Torres led the line as Demba Ba is ineligible for European duties. Unsurprisingly, Juan Mata was the key man for the hosts. The playmaker had a hand in all three goals – he found the net once and set up Terry and Torres and was also brought down for a late penalty which Torres fired off the crossbar. Ahead of Sunday’s home game with West Ham, Benitez made two late substitutions, with Mata and Hazard subbed off in the dying seconds – the former was seen limping although as yet, there’s no news of an injury sustained. Given that Lampard was hauled off after 52 minutes at Old Trafford and Branislav Ivanovic was rested for the second game in succession, those two look likely to be back in the first XI on Sunday, with rest and rotation looking all the more of an issue now that the Blues have sealed their progress. Their trip to Fulham, initially scheduled for Gameweek 29, has yet to be given a new date and with the Blues having at least two more European midweeks now, the Premier League may decide to hold back on announcing a new time for the fixtures until after their FA Cup Sixth Round Replay with United on April 1.

In Other News
Daniel Sturridge has revealed he has now returned to full fitness after a below-par performance against Spurs on Sunday. The Liverpool new boy admitted he suffered from a lack of sharpness in the weekend 3-2 win over the north London outfit:

“My fitness is fine. When I came back for the Tottenham game I trained for a couple of days prior to that. I didn’t feel as sharp as I could have. I’m not making excuses for not performing as well as I’d have liked to have done! I’m glad the team won and I was happy to help the team.”

With Luis Suarez registering three successive double figure hauls, faith in the former Chelsea man has diminished of late – over 11,000 FPL managers have sold him this week. While Sturridge’s owners were left frustrated by his failure to produce attacking returns for the first time in six appearances since moving to Merseyside, they will at least be a little more confident after yesterday’s revelation.

Arsene Wenger has been quick to issue an injury update after Arsenal’s 2-0 win in Munich on Wednesday evening. Speaking to the club’s official website, the Gunners boss has revealed both Lukas Podolski and Bacary Sagna (in addition to Jack Wilshere) will remain on the sidelines for tomorrow’s trip to Swansea, while according to the club’s twitter site this morning, Kieran Gibbs is set to miss out after suffering a slight setback on his return from injury in the Allianz Arena. Nacho Monreal was ineligible for the Bayern game and looks set to come back in at left-back for the Liberty match with Wenger unlikely to take any chances over Gibbs. Sagna’s absence afford Carl Jenkinson the chance to continue his recent impressive showings at right-back, while Tomas Rosicky looks set to retain the role in “the hole” behind Olivier Giroud as a result of Podolski and Wilshere’s absence, with Santi Cazorla once again primed for a role on the left flank. Alternatively, Cazorla could be shifted centrally if Wenger decides to give the likes of Gervinho or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a rare outing.