UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: REAL MADRID v BARCELONA

El Clasico. Champions League semi-final. Santiago Bernabeu. Do I need to say anymore? The whole football universe will watch with hypnotic fixation the action that is about to unfold over the two legs between these two giants of the game. Real Madrid and Barcelona have contested two Clasicos over the past ten days but neither can come close to the gravitas of the game on Wednesday night as the two sides fight for a place in the final at Wembley.

The La Liga game last weekend ended in a 1-1 draw while the Copa Del Rey final went Madrid's way after a dramatic extra-time goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. The last time these two sides contested a Champions League semi-final was in 2002, when Real Madrid beat Barca 3-1 on aggregate to make it to the final at Glasgow, where Zinedine Zidane scored an iconic goal to dispatch Bayer Leverkusen and help Madrid win their record 9th European Cup.

Real Madrid

A much changed Madrid side hammered Valencia 6-3 on Saturday as they geared up for the game on Wednesday in the grandest of manners. The bigger victory came a few days earlier, when they sealed a morale boosting win at the Mestalla to capture their first Copa Del Rey trophy since 1993. Mourinho deployed ultra-defensive tactics in a bid to stop Barca pillaging and it worked to perfection as they frustrated the Catalans for most of the game. The Special One is expected to change his tactics for the two-legged affair as he seeks to take a healthy advantage to the Nou Camp in a week's time.

The concerns for Madrid lie in the suspensions department where Ricardo Carvalho is suspended for the game after picking up his 3rd yellow card of the campaign while Ronaldo, Raul Albiol, Sergi Ramos and Angel Di Maria are all one booking away from a suspension. But Madrid will welcome Pepe back into the side after Brazilian served his one-match suspension in the last round against Tottenham Hotspur. The hero from the 1st leg against Spurs, Emmanuel Adebayor, is out with an abductor injury while Sami Khedira is also expected to miss the game with the same problem.

The one positive note for Madrid has been the return of Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain as the duo scored five of the six goals against Valencia on Saturday. The likes of Karim Benzema and Mesut Ozil might keep them out of the starting line up for the two games, but their presence on the bench surely gives Madrid a huge advantage when things need to be turned around.

Barcelona

The Catalans responded to the Copa Del Rey loss in mid-week with a pedantic 2-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday as Pep Guardiola rang in the changes. Unsurprisingly, the headlines were stolen by Lionel Messi as he became the first player in the history of Spanish football to score 50 goals in a season. In addition to being the top scorer in La Liga, the little magician is also at the top of the charts in the Champions League, where he has nine goals to his name so far. Guardiola was also relived to have his main centre forward back among the goals, David Villa ending his 11-game goal drought against Osasuna.

Barca have a few injury worries in defence, where Adriano is out for rest of the season while Diego Milito had to be substituted on Saturday after picking up a calf strain. Maxwell played the ninety minutes in spite of suffering with a groin strain while Carles Puyol is still struggling with a hamstring injury. But they will welcome Andres Iniesta back into the side after the midfielder served his one-match suspension against Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round.

Barca do not have too many options on the bench and that could pose a problem, especially when frustrated by Madrid. But as we all know the standard starting eleven of Barca can pulverise any side in the world on their day and if anybody feels that the loss in the Copa Del Rey has made them weaker going into the tie, they don't need to look any further than the 5-0 trouncing of Madrid at the Nou Camp back in November.

Head-to-Head:

20 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (Copa Del Rey)
16 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona

Form Guide:

Real Madrid: WWDWW

23 April, 2011: Valencia 3-6 Real Madrid
20 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (Copa Del Rey)
16 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
13 April, 2011: Tottenham 0-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)
9 April, 2011: Athletic Bilbao 0-3 Real Madrid

Barcelona: WLDWW

23 April, 2011: Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna
20 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (Copa Del Rey)
16 April, 2011: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
12 April, 2011: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Barcelona (Champions League)
9 April, 2011: Barcelona 3-1 Almeria

Probable Line Ups:

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas (Gk), Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Marcelo, Alonso, Diarra, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Benzema

The back four picks itself as centre-backs Pepe and Albiol will be protected by the full backs Ramos and Marcelo. Iker Casillas will be a huge presence in goal as Madrid will be keen to keep a clean sheet. With Khedira out injured, Lassana Diarra, who played the 90 minutes against Valencia, should slot into the defensive midfield position alongside Xabi Alonso. Ozil will be a vital link in the attacking third with Di Maria and Ronaldo bombing down the wings. Up front, Benzema is likely to be the lone striker.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes (Gk), Alves, Pique, Puyol, Milito, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa, Pedro

Guardiola doesn't have too many tough decisions to make in his team selection as the Messi, Villa and Pedro will occupy the front line with Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets covering the midfield positions. while Milito covers at left back. Alternatively, Dani Alves might move to left back with Puyol starting at right back.

Guru's Prediction: "REAL MADRID"

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: FC Schalke 04 v Manchester United

Schalke and Manchester United will face off in the first game of their two-legged UEFA Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday at the Veltins Arena for a spot in Europe's biggest club game of the season. The contest, certainly not seen as a battle of equals, pits a first time semi-finalist against a perennially consistent team, but despite that can very much go either way. Manchester United will certainly be favourites to play either one of the Spanish giants in the final after putting away domestic rivals Chelsea 3-1 in the quarters, but will have to be wary of the dangerous German side, who demolished current Champions League holders Inter Milan in the previous round 7-3. The meeting will be the first between the two sides, and it will be fascinating to see which team breaks, with Schalke boasting a 100% record at home, and the Red Devils yet to concede a goal on the road this season.





Schalke 04:

Gelsenkirchen will be the venue for Schalke's biggest home game of all time. The German side have defied all odds and played some brilliant football through the tournament to make it to the last four, and now arguably face their sternest test yet. A huge factor in Schalke's progress has been their home form, which though poor on the domestic circuit, has been brilliant in the Champions League, the German side having won each of five games at home with a combined score of 13-3. However, even with their success in Europe this season, a repeat of the same next season does not seem possible, with the team in 10th place in the Bundesliga. Their most recent game was a 1-0 loss at home against Kaiserslautern, with unhappy manager Ralf Rangnick saying that he will be ringing in the changes from that side when the club face Manchester United.

Champions League all-time highest scorer Raul Gonzales has been a huge influence for the side this year, and has a good record against Manchester United, having scored four goals in three games against the Red Devils in his time at Real Madrid. He has an explosive, young side around him, with Edu's finishing ability upfront, Jefferson Farfan's burst of pace and Jose Manuel Jurado's skill on the ball. The impetus for the side all season has been to attack, and they are unlikely to change that this Tuesday, leaving them susceptible at the back. They were dealt with a huge long-term blow this week when world-class goalkeeper Manuel Neuer announced that he wouldn't be extending his contract which expires in 2012, meaning that the club are almost surely going to offload him this off-season rather than see him leave on a Bosman when his contract expires.

The Royal Blues face German giants Bayern Munich at the weekend, following which they will travel to Manchester for the second leg of the tie, to be played at Old Trafford.

Manchester United:

The Red Devils are on course for a domestic title with their win at the weekend against Everton, and will now change their focus to the Champions League, where they are making their fourth semi-final appearance in the last five years. This kind of consistency over the last few years makes them favourites to win this tie and earn a spot in the finals of the competition to be played at Wembley. Manchester United have been solid if not spectacular in the Champions League this season, safely qualifying out of Group C, edging out French champions Olympique Marseille by the odd-goal and beating local rivals Chelsea both home and away to progress to the semis. They are still unbeaten in the competition, and go into the game having not conceded a goal on their travels.

Manchester United have not fared well against German opposition in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, having lost each of their four two-legged ties against Bundesliga teams, a curse they will want to reverse this time around. They are close to having a full-strength team, with players peaking at the right time, none more so than Mexican striker Javier Hernandez. It is a measure of how well Chicharito has done in his debut season that he is keeping the club's top goalscorer for the season Dimitar Berbatov out of the first team week in week out, and is justifying his place in the side, scoring yet another crucial winner at the weekend against Everton. However, with Sir Alex Ferguson sometimes preferring a more compact 4-5-1 formation against continental opposition, Wayne Rooney, who has had a huge resurgence himself, might lead the line on his own. It will also be crucial for United to keep tabs on the multi-faceted attack of the Schalke team, with a goal likely to come sometime, knowing the Royal Blues' weakness at the back.

The Red Devils, like Schalke, have a blockbuster weekend fixture away at Emirates against Arsenal to look forward to, where a win can seal the deal in terms of their Premier League ambitions. Following that will be their home leg against Schalke at Old Trafford.

Form Guide:

Schalke (LDWWW)

23 Apr '11 : Schalke 0 - 1 1. FC Kaiserslautern
16 Apr '11 : Werder Bremen 1 - 1 Schalke
13 Apr '11 : Schalke 2 - 1 Internazionale (Champions League)
9 Apr '11 : Schalke 1 - 0 VfL Wolfsburg
5 Apr '11 : Internazionale 2 - 5 Schalke (Champions League)

Manchester United (WDLWW)

23 Apr '11 : Manchester United 1 - 0 Everton
19 Apr '11 : Newcastle United 0 - 0 Manchester United
16 Apr '11 : Manchester City 1 - 0 Manchester United (FA Cup)
12 Apr '11 : Manchester United 2 - 1 Chelsea (Champions League)
9 Apr '11 : Manchester United 2 - 0 Fulham

Predicted Line-Ups:

Schalke (4-4-2) - Neuer, Howedes, Metzelder, Sarpei, Uchida, Matip, Papadopoulos, Jurado, Farfan, Raul, Edu

Manager Rangnick is likely to completely change his quartet of midfielders from their weekend's fixture, with Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Joel Matip, Jefferson Fanfan and Jose Jurado all expected to line-up against Manchester United. 71-time Champions League goalscorer Raul is likely to play off lead striker Edu, with full backs Atsuto Uchida and Hans Sarpei expected to bomb down the flanks at every given opportunity. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has made his intentions to leave clear, and though he will be played for the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see the reception he gets from the vociferous home fans.

Manchester United (4-4-2) - Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Carrick, Giggs, Park, Valencia, Hernandez, Rooney

Manchester United rested skipper Nemanja Vidic in their weekend's fixture and will line up with either veteran Rio Ferdinand if the center-half is fit enough to play two games in the space of four days, or Chris Smalling, who has been deputising for the oft-injured Ferdinand throughout the season. Patrice Evra was also a second half substitute at the weekend, and will resume his duties at left-back, with Sir Alex to choose between John O'Shea and Rafael da Silva at right-back. Ryan Giggs has been playing in the center of midfield recently, and might play in that position over Paul Scholes and Anderson, with Michael Carrick expected to take one place in midfield. Big-match man Park Ji-Sung will again be involved in a high-profile game, while in attack, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez have recently struck a good partnership and are almost certain to play in tandem, unless Sir Alex decides to play with a more defensive 4-5-1 formation. Dimitar Berbatov, who has been warming the bench recently, is ruled out of the trip with a groin injury, while Darren Fletcher is back in training, but this game is likely to come too early for the Scotsman.

Guru's Prediction:  "MANCHESTER UNITED"

REAL EASY

Real Madrid set up a Champions League semi-final date with Clasico rivals Barcelona, professionally seeing off the challenge of Tottenham Hotspur by defeating the English side 1-0 on the night, completing a comfortable 5-0 aggregate success.

Cristiano Ronaldo sealed Spurs’ fate soon after the game restarted following a goalless first half. Taking aim from 25 yards, the Portuguese hit a sweet shot goal-wards that was horribly fumbled into the net by Heurelho Gomes, leaving his side requiring six to go through.

If a comeback was to be made possible, the hosts appreciated that they would need to make ground back in the first half, but despite a largely up-tempo and positive period from the London club, they failed to make any headway into the nine-time champions’ advantage.

Wingers Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale offered the main sources of optimism for the Premier League team as an attacking threat, with the Welshman’s low drive on five minutes forcing Iker Casillas into a smart save low to his left. From the rebound, Luka Modric gathered the ball and hit the turf under a clumsy challenge, optimistically claiming for a penalty, but it would be Roman Pavlyuchenko’s failed appeal later in the period that gave the home side most cause for frustration.

Moments before the Russian was denied a spot kick, he only had himself to blame for failing to open the scoring as he lofted a shot well over from the edge of the box, rendering Lennon’s burst down the right wasted.

In general, Jose Mourinho’s side were containing their hosts well, preventing any regular danger to their goalkeeper. Tom Huddlestone squeezed a shot from a tight angle wide of the near post before the break, and Pavlyuchenko would draw a block from Casillas, but the Spaniards rarely looked like buckling.

Indeed, they had started the match in good form themselves, creating the best chance after three minutes, only for Ozil to side-foot tamely at Gomes.

Ten minutes before the interval, the Brazilian goalkeeper was stretched to a much greater degree, using every inch of his not inconsiderable frame to touch away a header from Sergio Ramos that appeared to be looping into the net. Emmanuel Adebayor was quickest onto the rebound, but the difficult follow-up was shot wide.

There was an air of satisfaction from Spurs at half-time, but the crowd were certainly quietened by Ronaldo’s strike some four minutes after the restart.

A measure of pride could have been restored just before the hour mark, though Pavlyuchenko’s header was a foot too high, with Casillas appearing to have the effort covered in any case.

Much of the first half’s intensity was lost with the opening goal, but chances remained frequent – at least initially. Substitute Jermain Defoe struck a stinging shot from 25 yards that Casillas got a strong wrist to parry clear, and Spain’s No.1 would later get across his goal well to deny William Gallas at the back post.

Four minutes from time, Rafael van der Vaart, who cut a quiet figure for much of this game, found space at the corner of the box but bent his shot too high.

At the other end of the field, Gomes nearly allowed a curling effort from Kaka to sneak under his hand and into the net. Thankfully for the shot-stopper, an already forgettable night wouldn’t get any worse as he got just enough on his countryman’s attempt to divert it wide.

A second goal would have flattered the Primera Division side on an evening in which they were never seriously pushed. Though there will undoubtedly be joy in the Spanish capital over their side’s progress to the semi-finals, the real test awaits in the semi-finals against fierce rivals Barca, whom they will soon meet four times in less than three weeks.

If the Catalans are overcome in Europe, Mourinho’s side will be hot favorites to finally lift their 10th European crown.

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea: Five things we learned

1 Vidic does not have an inferiority complex against Torres

Perhaps it is time to consign this fallacy to the dustbin of history. Fernando Torres can certainly lay claim to having subjected Nemanja Vidic to one of the more harrowing ordeals of his time as a United player, but that 4-1 defeat at home to Liverpool was over two years ago now. It was only once, and yet the sense has developed that Vidic is almost frightened of the Spaniard. In truth, it is as much a myth as saying that Frank Lampard is fat. Torres has now gone 11 hours and 33 minutes without scoring for Chelsea since joining for £50m and, even though he lasted only the first half, he gave the impression in that time that he would not score in a month of Sundays. It is not just goals that are missing – it is the dangerous sharpness of old, the sureness of touch where it matters in the penalty area. The only thing that was missing was for Vidic to take his opponent's jersey as a souvenir, perhaps to mount on his wall like the head of some felled big game.

2 Drogba has every right to feel aggrieved

Didier Drogba's form has hardly been exhilarating this season, and nobody can say for certain that the outcome would have been different if the Ivorian striker had been chosen instead of Torres. Yet what we can be sure about is that his presence in the second half gave Chelsea a more penetrative edge and immediately posed new questions of the United defence. Carlo Ancelotti got this one badly wrong and, for the Chelsea manager, there could be serious ramifications.

3 Ferdinand – tremendous defender, average actor

For a while it looked as though Rio Ferdinand would be back in the dressing room before he had barely a scuff of mud on his shorts. He started grimacing after nine minutes and it was clear that he was struggling to continue. In the circumstances, Ferdinand did well to last the 90 minutes. He gritted his teeth, avoided eye contact with the United dugout and put on the pretence that all was OK. Afterwards Sir Alex Ferguson reported that Ferdinand had taken a bang rather than suffering a recurrence of his calf injury but here is the issue for United: can they get him fit for a decent run of games? He is a brilliantly accomplished defender but has played only 29 of their past 79 Premier League games.

4 Lampard is suffering from a severe case of sixes and sevens

He never stops, his attitude is impeccable, he always wants the ball. Yet Frank Lampard looks like a man who is discovering, a couple of months short of his 33rd birthday, that he no longer quite has the legs to be the driving, box‑to-box player of old. This is not to say he played badly. Yet the man Ferguson once described as "a freak" because of the way he never misses games has lost four months of this season to a recurring groin injury and these things can take their toll for a footballer of his years. Lampard, for now at least, has gone from being a player who was routinely marked at eight or nine out of 10 to one who has dropped to the sixes and sevens.

5 Little Pea, little fee

Javier Hernández cost United £6m when he signed from Chivas de Guadalajara. Chicharito has now scored 18 goals in 20 starts with a further 17 substitute appearances and is endearing himself to Old Trafford in a way that means Dimitar Berbatov, the Premier League's leading scorer, is left out of United's European matches as a matter of routine. In terms of value for money, Hernández already looks assured of joining Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer et al as one of the best signings Ferguson has ever made.

UEFA Champions League Preview : Manchester United Vs Chelsea

Lights. Camera. Action. The sporting thespians will descend on the Theatre of Dreams to the tune of the UEFA Champions League anthem for the return leg of the Champions League Quarter-final between Manchester United and Chelsea on Tuesday night. The first leg between the two giants of English football ended with United winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday courtesy of a Wayne Rooney goal. Both sides turned their attention to the Premier League over the weekend as United sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Fulham while Chelsea edged out Wigan 1-0.

The Red Devils hold all the aces at the moment but Sir Alex Ferguson will be wary of the threat Chelsea pose. One goal for Chelsea changes the whole complexion of the game and Carlo Ancelotti will draw confidence from Chelsea's most recent visit to Old Trafford back in April 2010 when they beat United 2-1 to take a decisive step towards the title. There is often very little to choose between the two sides and things will be no different come Tuesday night.

Guru's Prediction : "MANCHESTER UNITED"