Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's Champions League last 16, second leg clash between Schalke 04 and Galatasaray at the Veltins-Arena.

KICK OFF!

We are just moments away from kick off now. It's a finely poised tie that could easily go either way. Will we see a performance of real German efficiency or is it going to be a night for Turkish delight? We'll find out over the course of the next 90 minutes or so. Stay tuned for live updates.

A poignant night for Drogba, who will be playing in Germany for the first time since he helped win the CL trophy with Chelsea. He said: "I didn't think I'd play in the Champions League again. The history of the competition is very special. I was always a big fan of it and it was a dream for me to play in it. Every time I have a chance to play in this competition I try to give my best."

Meanwhile, Gala coach Fatih Terim remains upbeat about his team's chances despite going up against what he has described as a much 'improved' Schalke. He told reporters: "Since the first game, the 1-1 draw in Istanbul, Schalke have improved considerably and become a much better team. We know we are up against a strong opponent but I am confident we will win. I trust my team."

Regarding the absence of Dutch forward, Huntelaar, Keller added: "Losing him will make life difficult for us, but we have been in this situation before. Feeling sorry for ourselves will do us no good. We not only played well against Dortmund. We have been in good form over the past five matches. However, we are not getting carried away. We got a decent result in Istanbul, but we did not win by three or four goals. We have worked long and hard to build the confidence we have now."

Coach Jens Keller is confident Schalke can complete the job in hand following the morale-boosting success over Dortmund at the weekend. He told his pre-match press conference: "We are in a good position before the second leg, but the draw is only going to be worth something if we reach the quarter-finals. But the guys proved that they were the better team. Beating the German champions doesn’t happen every day and is encouraging for the tasks ahead."

On Twitter: @SimonEllisJones is tipping Schalke to ease into the quarter-finals with a 2-0 success. Ado tends to agree in our comments section below: "Kolasinac is going to dominate Drogba and shut him down - just like he did in the first match. He's a 19-year-old Bosnian defender, who will be playing for Bosnia, hopefully very soon."

However, it was a frustrating warm-up for Gala. Drogba missed a penalty and Gokhan Zan was sent off on a forgettable Friday evening for Aslan against Genclerbirligi SK. Interestingly, all four of their league defeats this season have come on a Friday.

Schalke come into the match on the back of three straight wins following the first-leg draw in Turkey. On Saturday they secured an impressive 2-1 success over neighbours Dortmund. Julian Draxler marked his 100th appearance for the club with the opener while Huntelaar got what proved to be the winner.

Elsewhere in the Champions League tonight, Barcelona host AC Milan aiming to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit.

Who is going to join Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight? Tweet me your views or make your comments below and I'll publish the best ones in the live commentary.

The tie is finely poised following a 1-1 draw in the first-leg in Turkey. Schalke's Jermaine Jones - suspended for tonight's match - got what could prove to be a crucial away goal to cancel out Burak Yılmaz's opener.

Schalke are without the injured Klaas-Jan Huntelaar so Finnish striker Teemu Pukki, who replaced the Dutch star at the weekend, leads the line as the one change to the 11 that started the win over Borussia Dortmund. As for Galatasaray, they make three changes from the home loss against Genclerbirligi SK. Felipe Melo returns in midfield following a domestic suspension, while Didier Drogba also comes in after missing a late penalty as a substitute on Friday. Dany Nounkeu replaces Gokhan Zan.

Confirmed teams: SCHALKE: Hildebrand, Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Kolasinac, Hoger, Neustadter, Farfan, Draxler, Bastos, Pukki. SUBS: Fahrmann, Metzelder, Fuchs, Barnetta, Moritz, Meyer, Obasi. /// GALATASARAY: Muslera, Eboue, Semih Kaya, Nounkeu, Riera, Hamit Altıntop, Selcuk Inan, Felipe Melo, Sneijder, Drogba, Burak Yilmaz...SUBS: Eray Iscan, Gokhan Zan, Hakan Balta, Sabri Sarioglu, Yekta Kurtulus, Amrabat, Umut Bulut.