Wednesday's knock out Preview

The stage is set for the big games in Europe as anyway eight European giants have to leave the arena and the winners will go to the Quarter finals. The English giants have got slight upper hand over their Spanish and Italian counterparts as Real Madrid need to win the game at Anfield by a margin of 2 goals also Juventus and Roma trailing Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. Barcelona have got the away goal advantage and Inter Milan have got the mountainous task of winning at Old Trafford if they want to progress . Bayern almost made to the next round with their first leg performance .


Manchester United v Inter Milan


The much waited match of the day as the first leg end in a goalless draw at Italy contested between the champions of Italy with the Champions of World, Europe and English football playing each other . It will be the battle between the two best managers in Europe – Ferguson the long serving coach of United and Mourinho the new one in the block who can claim to be Fergie’s real successor and who wants to do the same with United with his recent remarks. With his spells with Porto , Chelsea and now with Inter the Portuguese has shown that he is also a genius
In the first leg United outclassed their Italian counterparts in every department yet they were not able to do that in front of the goal . It was a rather bad decision for Sir Alex to leave Rooney on the bench as his other strikers were ruining chance after chance . The striker is in his peak form now scoring goals in all his last starts and also making crucial assists . He will be up to take his chances .
Vidic is coming after suspension which is a major boost for United . The Serbian is their major player in the heart of the defence throughout the season and it is interesting to see how Ibramovic cope with him Defensively United are in trouble now with Ferdinand & O’shea injured . With Neville and Brown also injured United somehow have got a defensive crisis. But otherwise they are flying high in their league .

Battles will be fought between the United forwards and their counterparts. Last match it was between Ronaldo and the Inter milan keeper

Meanwhile, Inter Milan have just two fit centre-backs after losing Marco Materazzi and Nicolas Burdisso to injury in the first half of their 2-0 victory over Genoa.

Ahead of the game in Manchester, Inter coach Jose Mourinho said: "Christian Chivu, Walter Samuel, Materazzi and Burdisso are out."


Roma v Arsenal


Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor will miss the Champions League tie with Roma because of an ongoing hamstring injury.

But Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure should be fit for the match, which Arsenal lead 1-0 from the first leg.

Eduardo and Theo Walcott - who both played in the Gunners' FA Cup win over Burnley - are among manager Arsene Wenger's options up front.

Meanwhile, Roma defender Cicinho is out for the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.

Up front, Eduardo made a strong case for inclusion with a superb goal against the Clarets, while England winger Walcott played the last 20 minutes in his first appearance since shoulder surgery in November.

Walcott admits he is not fit enough to start yet but could make an impact from the substitutes' bench.

"I need a few more training sessions, a few more games coming off the bench and hopefully if I am doing well the boss will put me in," said Walcott.

He added: "The shoulder feels fine.

"I still haven't experienced getting clattered yet, so that's the next test. Even though it sounds weird, that will definitely be good for me."

Tuesday’s knock out Preview

The stage is set for the big games in Europe as anyway eight European giants have to leave the arena and the winners will go to the Quarter finals. The English giants have got slight upper hand over their Spanish and Italian counterparts as Real Madrid need to win the game at Anfield by a margin of 2 goals also Juventus and Roma trailing Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. Barcelona have got the away goal advantage and Inter Milan have got the mountainous task of winning at Old Trafford if they want to progress . Bayern almost made to the next round with their first leg performance .


Juventus vs Chelsea


Chelsea hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago, but Del Piero still believes that can be overturned at the Stadio Olimpico with a repeat of their performance in London and a bit of luck.

"We played well there a fortnight ago," he said. "Chelsea played quite a good game and won, we played a very good game but lost.

"Hopefully we can turn that around tomorrow night.

"We have been particularly looking forward to this game and tomorrow we will have to play the perfect game."

After losing Mohamed Sissoko to a fractured foot at the weekend, coach Claudio Ranieri received even worse news on Monday when he lost central defender Nicolas Legrottaglie to a recurrent knee injury.

"He still has the same problem with his knee," he explained. "He tried to train, but said he could still feel pain. He had never really fully recovered from it in the first place."

Former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg should take his place alongside Giorgio Chiellini at the heart of the Juve defence while Jonathan Zebina has been included in the squad after making his first appearance of the season in the Turin derby at the weekend.

Zdenek Grygera is also back after missing the derby while Del Piero and Amauri should start in attack, but Ranieri is not taking anything for granted.

Guus Hiddink has vowed Chelsea will not sit back and gift Juventus the initiative.

"It's always nice to have a clean sheet," said Hiddink. "That's very important. But if you just wait in the second leg and hope not to concede, willing not to concede a goal and not have any initiative in the game, you will have a lot of problems.

"So, whenever we can, the team must attack. It's in their character. We've not come here just to defend. That would be asking for trouble.

"At this level, it's tight. Our game at Stamford Bridge was tight. Tomorrow it will be too.

"When you are in this period in Europe, I don't want to talk about luck but you have to force luck a little bit."

Hiddink's options have been boosted by the return to fitness of Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Essien was sidelined for six months earlier this season with knee ligament damage but he will be in the 18 on duty against Juventus.

Hiddink will wait until the last moment to decide whether top scorer Nicolas Anelka has recovered sufficiently from his bruised toe or whether midfielder Deco suffers any reaction to his hamstring tear.


Liverpool vs Real Madrid

A bullish Rafael Benitez will send Liverpool into Champions League battle against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
He insists that his side can still win two trophies this season. For boss Benitez, these coming days are the last throw of the dice to rescue Liverpool's season, with the Barclays Premier League seemingly out of reach.

A week ago Benitez was in the depths of depression after the shock defeat at Middlesbrough, coming only days after a stunning 1-0 win in the Bernabeu that sets up Liverpool perfectly for Real's arrival at Anfield.

But now Benitez's demeanour has changed dramatically as he contemplates a week of destiny for Liverpool's future.

In the next five days Liverpool face two of the world's greatest football powers in Real and Manchester United.

Two wins would be the miracle result Benitez craves. The first, completing a last-16 victory over Real, would send Liverpool into the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years.

Benitez determinedly talked up his injury-hit side's chances, saying: "This is a huge week in Liverpool's season.

"We aim to progress in the Champions League. It is so important for the fans and the club, and the money, for Liverpool to reach the quarter-finals.

"Then we have the game at Manchester United. If we win then we can still think about the title; if you cannot do that it will be almost impossible to win the title.

"But we feel we are still in a fantastic position, much better than last season.

"We have been improving and the key is to improve a little more in the next week.

"We can progress in Europe. Why not? We know that we have enough quality and experience in this competition."

Fernando Torres has been back in light training for two days following his ankle injury but it seems highly unlikely he will be risked from the start tomorrow, much as Steven Gerrard was not risked in the Bernabeu until the final minutes.

Alvaro Arbeloa, with a hamstring problem, is critical to Benitez's selection. If the Spain international is not fit, then he may have to play Javier Mascherano at full-back again.

That would unbalance his whole midfield and may force him to play Brazilian youngster Lucas.

He seems certain to be without Yossi Benayoun, the match-winner in Madrid, who has picked up a hamstring injury in training.

Madrid boss Juande Ramos said: "Knowing who will play for Liverpool is not something I can control, but Liverpool do not base their success on one individual and they always have a squad and strength in depth, it is never about just one player.

"We accept that it is tough at this stage, but must deal with it, but we have the quality to go through. This competition is all about bringing out the best in a team."

And he believes that Madrid's impressive recent domestic run, and their fine away form in La Liga, will help them at Anfield.

He said: "Victories breed confidence. The great run of unbeaten away games does give us confidence for this match.

"This is a delightful, delicious game, and it is sad that one great side will be left by the wayside."


Bayern vs Sporting Lisbon


Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann has promised to take their Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon seriously.

That is despite his intention to rest several key players after establishing a comfortable lead in the first leg.

Bayern beat the Portuguese side 5-0 away from home and should complete the job at the Allianz Arena tomorrow, although Klinsmann expects the opposition to be in better shape than a fortnight ago.

"They are a really good team," he said. "The will want to show that what happened in Lisbon was just a one-off.

"They will give it all they have got."

Nevertheless, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is sure his club are certain of being in the last eight.

"I think I can say without sounding arrogant that, before this second leg, our team is as good as guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals," he said.

That practical assurance will allow Klinsmann to make a few alterations and he has confirmed he will give a rest to goalkeeper Michael Rensing and not take any risks on the injured trio of Luca Toni, Franck Ribery and Tim Borowski.

Hamit Altintop is also out of the game after picking up an injury in the 5-1 win over Hannover on Saturday.

Jose Ernesto Sosa and Breno should earn rare starts, although Klinsmann believes the 66,000 fans deserve to see their team at their best.

"It will be a sell-out, it is the Champions League and we have an obligation to the fans to give it our best and offer them a good game," he said.

"I want a really good performance and a team which takes this game seriously.

"We may have one and a half legs in the next round, but we are not fully there yet.

"Those who do play will have to give it everything."

Klinsmann has included Deniz Yilmaz and Thomas Muller in his squad from the reserve team and one of the two forwards could well start.

The Bayern coach has shown a reluctance to play Lukas Podolski recently and his place in the team is far from guaranteed.

Sporting coach Paulo Bento also believes the tie is all but over.

"The outcome is already clear, but we will leave the competition with pride," he said.

Bento could rotate his team even more than Klinsmann since Liedson is out and both midfielders Fabio Rochemback and Leandro Romagnoli have not made the trip to Munich.

Panathinaikos vs Villarreal


Henk Ten Cate believes passion and desire will be the key ingredients required if his Panathinaikos FC side are to see off Villarreal CF and progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League.

Quality
The Greek club are many people's favourites following the impressive 1-1 result they gained in the first leg at El Madrigal, but their Dutch coach insists the first knockout round tie is still delicately balanced. "Both teams have quality, and Villarreal have an extremely strong squad," said Ten Cate, who has main striker Vangelis Mantzios available for the first time since the match in Spain after a knee injury. "We have prepared well and we are at home so we have a good chance to qualify. But we will only do it if we are serious in our approach and play with desire and passion."

Cauldron of passion
A sell-out crowd is anticipated at the OACA Spiros Louis Stadium for what is being billed as the Green Machine versus the Yellow Submarine – and the spicy atmosphere will play a major role in Pana's chances according to Ten Cate. "With the cauldron of passion that our fans will create, I believe we will get the result we want," said the trainer, who will replace suspended defender Giannis Goumas with Polish international Jakub Wawrzyniak. "As always they will be our 12th man. With those supporters behind us the team is capable of great things."

Challenge
Panathinaikos are one game away from equalling their longest unbeaten run in the competition after going five matches without defeat, and they are also in good domestic form having overcome Larissa FC 3-0 on Saturday to maintain second spot in the Super League. Ten Cate threw the gauntlet down to opposite number Manuel Pellegrini, saying: "After the first leg the Spanish press wrote that Villarreal had not played better all season. Well, now they have to play even better if they want to beat us. We will play to win as always, but we know a goalless draw will take us through."

'No favourites'
Pellegrini, who welcomes back Joan Capdevila from suspension, sounded an equally confident note, explaining how his side can turn the tie around. "I don't think either team can be considered favourites," he said. "Panathinaikos have the away goal but we will go for the win. If we can control as much possession as we did in the first game, and convert more of the many chances we always create, then we can get the right result."

Winning form
Villarreal consolidated fourth place in the Spanish Liga with a 1-0 win against RCD Espanyol on Saturday and are unbeaten in six outings. Midfielder Ariel Ibagaza caught the eye against Espanyol, but is expected only to make the bench as Robert Pirès was rested with this match in mind. Despite Giorgos Karagounis's influential display in the first leg, Pellegrini said he will not be making special plans to contain the Greece schemer. "We have not singled out any players," he concluded. "Panathinaikos have good players all over the park and we have to account for all of them, not just focus on one particular individual."

Beckham to extend AC Milan stay

David Beckham will stay at AC Milan until the end of the season after a 'timeshare' deal was finally agreed with Los Angeles Galaxy.

The 33-year-old former England captain will then re-join LA Galaxy for several months, before returning to Milan at the end of the year.

Beckham was scheduled to return to Galaxy on 9 March, but wants to make a permanent move to the San Siro.

It is understood he has agreed a salary cut to ensure the move goes ahead.

The Englishman, who signed a five-year deal with the Galaxy in January 2007, moved to Milan in January to stay fit during the Major League Soccer off-season and so maintain his bid for an England place.

Milan have been impressed with the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, however, and are keen to make the move permanent.

Beckham has scored two goals in nine Serie A games during his time with Milan.

The deal follows weeks of negotiations between the two clubs during which Milan baulked at the size of the transfer fee Galaxy were demanding - thought to be around £12m.

Beckham's desire to play for a top club in order to cement his place in the England squad for the 2010 World Cup finals led to him effectively funding the unique loan deal himself.

The only issue that has yet to be settled is Beckham's position at the end of next season - under the arrangement he will only be on loan at Milan until then.

Ferguson ready to toast great rivalry

Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already bought a bottle of wine to share with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford next week.

United tackle Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday knowing victory in the second leg will be enough to seal a quarter-final place.

Yet Ferguson also knows he must halt a disappointing head-to-head record with Mourinho which has brought him just one win in 13 meetings during the Inter coach's time with Chelsea and Porto.

The meagre return has not stopped a close bond developing between the pair, with some pundits believing Inter coach Mourinho will one day return to United on a full-time basis as Ferguson's successor.

Not that the Scot is thinking of standing down any time soon, so for now, the pair will have to settle for a post-match glass of Ferguson's chosen red.

"I have got a good one ready for him," Ferguson told Inside United.

"The great thing about Jose is he can laugh at himself and is able to separate what happens on the pitch and off it.

"He might lose a game but you can still have a conversation with him about anything and everything after it.

"It is important for managers to be able to communicate with each other and forget the game no matter what the result."

Totti gunning for Arsenal

Captain Francesco Totti is desperately trying to get back on the pitch so that he can help Roma beat Arsenal.

The two clubs met last week in the Champions League at The Emirates stadium with Arsenal clinging on to a 1-0 advantage with the return leg in Rome next Wednesday.

Totti who has been out with a knee injury wants to play this weekend in the league so as to get back to speed before coming up against the Gunners.

Roma's fitness trainer Vito Scala told Corriere dello Sport: "The knee is okay and there is no need to talk about a surgical procedure,

"Now we have to work to get him fit for the match against Arsenal. And, if he needs to get minutes under his belt to be in top form for that date, we will employ him on Saturday. Provided that this niggling problem goes away..."

Ramos ready for Anfield reckoning

eal Madrid CF are looking at next week's UEFA Champions League first knockout round decider at Liverpool FC as "almost a final", according to the Spanish outfit's right-back Sergio Ramos.

Anfield mission
Yossi Benayoun gave Liverpool a memorable 1-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu last Wednesday, heading in after 82 minutes to put his team firmly in the driving seat ahead of Tuesday's return encounter at Anfield. Ramos and Co refuse to accept their chance has gone, though, perhaps mindful that their opponents have lost a home leg four times in the last nine seasons following an away victory – even if they have still managed to progress on each occasion. "Just like them, we need to find an away goal," said the defender. "It's almost a final; we're playing for qualification and we all know we have to put pressure on them to try to get a goal, although we'll have to be wary."

Domestic form
Los Merengues can take heart from their domestic form, having extended their run of consecutive Liga wins to ten at RCD Espanyol on Saturday. That brought them to within four points of leaders FC Barcelona at the summit and they will hope to reduce the gap still further in Saturday's derby at home against capital rivals Club Atlético de Madrid. The Liverpool defeat was their first reverse since 13 December, in fact. "It was one of our first defeats, but we have to learn from it and not forget that [the tie] isn't just 90 minutes – it's 180," added Ramos. "There will be one more match and we'll need to be very concentrated for the next 90 minutes. We all want to win this knockout round."

Anfield factor
The 22-year-old Spanish international likewise expects to be lifted by the Anfield atmosphere, denying that the noise levels could prove intimidating. "I don't know how it is for everyone else, but for me personally to play in a stadium like that is great," he said. "I feel it's something that motivates and can help as well." Those sentiments were echoed by left-back Gabriel Heinze, who has previous experience of the famous stadium after spending three seasons with Manchester United FC. "The atmosphere there is something beautiful; it's part of football," said the Argentinian. "It won't affect us because we're used to playing in this type of atmosphere. We just have to get a good result."

Ballack hails 'charismatic' Hiddink

Chelsea FC midfielder Michael Ballack has praised manager Guus Hiddink as the club begin to contemplate next week's UEFA Champions League first knockout round decider at Juventus, having established a 1-0 lead in the tie just four days after the Dutchman took over.

Charismatic character
Hiddink was installed as Chelsea boss last month following Luiz Felipe Scolari's dismissal and secured a crucial 1-0 win at Aston Villa FC in the Premier League before repeating the feat against the Bianconeri at Stamford Bridge. "He spoke a lot with the players," Ballack said when asked how Hiddink used the little time he had to work with the squad. "He has a real charisma and a big personality; he does not need a lot of words. He organised us really well. It is always difficult to take over a team in the middle of a season. We have many good leaders on the pitch and we have got good results so he is very happy."

Defensive retreat
Didier Drogba's strike on 12 minutes proved enough to give Chelsea a narrow lead ahead of the return leg at the Stadio Olimpico, but Ballack says he was disappointed that the Blues did not push on following their early breakthrough. "We thought the early goal would do us good but strangely that wasn't the case," the German international said. "We dropped back too much and let them control the game, even if we did not give them too many chances. Overall, we did not do enough to score a second goal, but the most important thing is that we did not concede."

Turin fortress
Chelsea, who secured another 1-0 win against Portsmouth FC on Tuesday having beaten Wigan Athletic FC 2-1 at the weekend, now face a tricky trip to Turin next Tuesday knowing Juventus have not lost there in the UEFA Champions League since 9 March 2004. They have won eleven and drawn four of their subsequent 15 games since a 1-0 defeat by RC Deportivo La Coruña at this stage of the competition five years ago, but Ballack insists that he is content with a one-goal advantage. "We are happy with the result and I think it is a good starting point for us," the 32-year-old said. "It will be another tough game for us. Juventus will give everything to win at home but an away goal would make a big difference, so we will go there with our heads up. But, again, it will be a tough match."