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Barcelona vs. Chelsea
The Barcelona and Chelsea matchup at Camp Nou promises to be a thrilling 90 minutes, as indicated by the recent form of both clubs.
Chelsea has improved since Guus Hiddink replaced Luiz “Big Phil” Scolari, and the club has already guaranteed a place in the FA Cup final.
Barcelona has been scintillating all season, booking a ticket to the King's Cup final, as well as sitting atop the standings in La Liga.
The attacking trio of Messi, Eto’o, and Henry has been lethal throughout the tournament, and Chelsea will have to deal with those three first if they are to walk away with a positive result.
Chelsea would be better equipped to handle the three-headed attack of Barcelona if it weren't for the first leg suspension of defender Ashley Cole.
Therein lies their greatest weakness: a lack of an accomplished understudy for that role.
Circulating reports indicate that youngster Michael Mancienne will be given the task of trying to keep Lionel Messi at bay.
Andreas Iniesta—a player who I believe is absolutely world class and, if given space, can exploit any team in the world—could be the difference if Chelsea focuses their attention on Messi, Henry, and Eto’o.
But when it's all said and done, I think that Chelsea is one of two teams that are equipped to handle Barcelona—the other being Liverpool. If the Blues repeat their antics in the recent 4-4 draw with Liverpool, or even the 4-3 win over Bolton, they are surely in for a battering.
Michael Essien, Lampard, and Ballack remain extremely vital for the success of Chelsea. This threesome will try to close down spaces in the midfield and limit Xavi’s influence on the game, thus limiting Barca's possession.
The good thing for Chelsea is that defensively Barcelona are not that solid, so Didier Drogba should fancy nicking a goal or two past Victor Valdes, and that should make the match very interesting.
Man United vs. Arsenal
It’s the first time that these clubs are meeting in the Champions League. There is great rivalry between both the clubs' managers, players, and fans, and it should be quite the spectacle.
Man United is the more experienced of the two in this competition and are also the defending champions. Believe it or not, it’s only Arsenal’s second Champions League semifinal in their history.
Going in, the Arsenal players are beaming with confidence, having dispatched Villarreal with relative ease and gone 18 games unbeaten in the Premiership.
The return of Adebayor and Fabregas has been vital to their resurgence. The two add different dimensions to Arsenal’s play, and they have also injected into the team some much needed freshness at the business end of the season.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Arshavin, their difference maker at Anfield last Tuesday, is Cup tied.
With Gallas out for the rest of the season, the Gunners defense has been shaky recently. It hasn’t been helped by Silvestre’s injury over the weekend, which has ruled him out of the tie.
They should hope that Djourou and Clichy recover to full fitness to beef up that ailing defense; otherwise, they are in trouble trying to contain Rooney, Ronaldo, and company.
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