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"

Manchester City Vs Manchester United FA Cup Semi Final Preview

SOME FACTS :-

• Manchester United has won its last seven games in a row in all competitions.

• Today's match is expected to be the highest ever attendance for a Manchester derby, with a 90,000 sell-out crowd beating the previous best of 78,000 recorded in 1947 at Maine Road.

• Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby played on the losing side of both an FA Cup semi-final and FA Cup final before winning the Cup for Manchester City in 1934.

• City have won the FA Cup four times, in 1904, 1934, 1956 and 1969, and last appeared in the final in 1981.

• Roberto Mancini's side have not won a major domestic trophy in 35 years, with their last silverware being the 1976 League Cup.

• In contrast, Manchester United have won the FA Cup 11 times, five of those successes coming under Sir Alex Ferguson's watch.

• Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in English football's history, having won the Premier League 11 times, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup three times and the Champions League twice.

• Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has failed to score in nine Premier League appearances since his January move from Wolfsburg but has scored twice in the FA Cup, both against Notts County.

• The two sides have met 157 times in all competitions, with the red half of Manchester picking up 65 wins to the blue's 42, and City have won only two of their six encounters in the FA Cup.

• The last time the teams met in this competition was in February 2004, when Gary Neville was sent off in a Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy inspired 4-2 rout at Old Trafford.

The Build-Up

A whole metropolis will descend onto Wembley Way on Saturday as a cross-town rivalry is played out on the neutral territory of London's Wembley Stadium. The animosity between Manchester United and Manchester City has increased manifold ever since the oil barons from the Middle-East flew in to catapult the Eastlands club into the limelight back in 2008. The gulf in class between the two clubs has gradually decreased in that period but City still have a lot to do before they can claim to be on the same level as their neighbours. You don't have to look any further than the current situation where United are edging to an incredible treble while City are holding onto the final Champions League spot with dear life.

United have a 5-2 edge in FA Cup meetings between the two sides, but City fans will point towards the fact that all of the Red Devils' wins came on home turf. Surprisingly, the two sides have never met at Wembley, but they did contest a semi-final at Bramall Lane way back in 1926, with City emerging victorious 3-0. The two teams faced off in an enthralling Carling Cup semi-final last season when an injury time Wayne Rooney goal handed United a 4-3 win on aggregate. There is no love lost between these two sides and with an FA Cup final up for grabs, a real battle can be expected on Saturday.

Manchester City

The Blues are in the midst of a mini-crisis following their 3-0 hammering at the hands of Liverpool earlier this week. Tottenham Hotspur now have the chance to draw level with City in 4th place if they win their game in hand. To add insult to injury, City also lost their talismanic captain Carlos Tevez to a hamstring injury at Anfield on Monday and Roberto Mancini on Thursday confirmed that the striker will be out for up to four weeks. There was one positive news on the injury front as Micah Richards has returned to full training earlier than expected.

The FA Cup offers the under-fire Mancini a last chance of redemption and more importantly offers City a great chance to finally end their 35 year trophy drought. In fact, the game on Saturday will be City's first FA Cup semi-final since 1981 and what better way to mark the occasion than by defeating the side that you aim to overtake. But one must wonder as to where the goals are going to come from in the absence of Tevez. The support cast of Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Jo have a combined total of 17 goals between them, five goals less than Tevez's tally of 22.

The side have picked up points against the lower sides but have struggled against established opponents, especially away from home. In fact, they haven't registered an away victory in the Premier League since overturning Newcastle 3-1 at St.James' Park on Boxing Day. A loss on Saturday might deflate the whole side and have further repercussions in the League. The 4th and final Champions League spot is still up for grabs and with Spurs still to visit the City of Manchester Stadium, the Blue half of Manchester cannot afford to lose its nerve at this vital stage of the season.

Manchester United

The Red Devils are riding high on confidence after they brushed aside Chelsea 3-1 over two legs in the Champions League. The Red Devils were at their composed best against the Blues, with all their big game players coming to the fore at the right time. With a place in the Champions League semi-final now secure, they turn their attention towards the third trophy in their quest of the treble, the FA Cup. The eleven time winners haven't won the trophy since 2004 and are long overdue a good cup run.

United will of course be without Wayne Rooney for the game, as he is sidelined with a two-game suspension for the outburst at Upton Park. It's a blow for the striker who, in the past few weeks, has begun to regain the confidence of old. United have plenty of cover in that department though with Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen all fighting for places. With the arrival of Hernandez, United finally have a forward who can stretch opposition defences with his pace, something they have clearly lacked since the departure of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. It's no coincidence that the side have come into its own over the past month with Hernandez as a regular starter, thus allowing Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick to strike form at the right time.

United have a maximum of eleven games remaining in the season, with blockbuster ties against Arsenal and Chelsea in the League, a Champions League semi-final against Schalke and the possibility of two final appearances at Wembley. Sir Alex Ferguson might tone down the talk of a treble but the fact that United are even in the running for trophies on three fronts during a transitional season is a testament to the club, manager and players.

Head-to-Head:

12th Feb, 2011: Man Utd 2-1 Man City
10th Nov, 2010: Man City 0-0 Man Utd

Form Guide:

Manchester City: LWLWW

11th April, 2011: Liverpool 3-0 Man City
3rd April, 2011: Man City 5-0 Sunderland
20th March, 2011: Chelsea 2-0 Man City
17th March, 2011: Man City 1-0 Dynamo Kiev (Europa League)
13th March, 2011: Man City 1-0 Reading (FA Cup)

Manchester United: WWWWW

12th April, 2011: Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea (Champions League)
9th April, 2011: Man Utd 2-0 Fulham
6th April, 2011: Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd (Champions League)
2nd April, 2011: West Ham 2-4 Man Utd
19th March, 2011: Man Utd 1-0 Bolton

Probable Line Ups:

Manchester City (4-3-3): Hart (Gk), Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Barry, De Jong, Johnson, Dzeko, Silva

Mancini is expected to line up in a typically circumspect formation with the three holding midfielders protecting the back four. Joe Hart will have a busy day in goal and so will the full backs, Micah Richards and Aleksandar Kolarov. Vincent Kompany has been inspirational in central defence and he should be partnered by Jolean Lescott. Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong will play the deepest in midfield with Yaya Toure expected to make the odd foray into the opponent's box. David Silva is a vital player in a creative sense and he should start down the left with Adam Johnson and James Milner fighting for the right midfield slot. Up front, Balotelli can be a threat but its unlikely that Mancini will trust the petulant striker for such a big occasion, so expect Dzeko to play as the lone striker.

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar (Gk), Rafael, Vidic, Smalling, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez

Sir Alex has a very strong squad of players to choose from as he is bound to make changes to his line up following the travails of the Champions League game. Edwin van der Sar has struggled with injuries recently and was safeguarded for the Chelsea games by being rested for the League games, but the tall Dutchman should be fit enough to guard the goal on Saturday with Thomasz Kuszczak the back up keeper. Rafael da Silva was expected to make a comeback for the game on Tuesday but the Brazilian didn't resume to full training in time for the game, but should be ready for Wembley on Saturday.

Elsewhere in defence, Rio Ferdinand struggled with a thigh injury during the game against Chelsea and might be rested for this one, with Chris Smalling expected to partner Nemanja Vidic in the centre. United have been hampered by the absence of Darren Fletcher through a viral infection, so Paul Scholes is expected to come in alongside the imperious Carrick. Nani and Valencia provide Sir Alex with plenty of options down the wings with Berbatov and Chicharito the expected combination up front. If Sir Alex decides to go with five in midfield, Anderson or Ji Sung Park can come in for one of the strikers.

Guru's Prediction : "MANCHESTER UNITED"

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.