Champions League Returns with Italian, English Clubs Clashing

Arsenal vs. AS Roma

24 Feb 2009 20:45:00 CET
Emirates Stadium—London
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark)

Arsenal finished second in group G with 11 points and their only defeat came to group winners Porto. The Gunners went all the way to the final in 2006 where they were defeated at the hands of Barcelona. Since then, the North London club hasn’t been nearly as successful in their quest for European glory.

Injuries and poor form has seen Arsenal slip down the standings and just last weekend they collected their third consecutive goalless draw. The club is currently residing in fifth place with a mighty 17 points separating them from the top—which makes it rather safe to say that they’re out of the title race for this time.

Just like their Italian opponents, Arsenal has been plagued with injuries this season. The team is still lacking their most important player in Francesc Fabregas and on top of that Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mikael Silvestre Abou Diaby, and Eduardo da Silva are all ruled out of the action. The Gunner’s latest recruit, Andrei Arshavin, is not eligible to play since he has already represented Zenit St. Petersburg in the tournament earlier this season.

Arsenal probable starting XI: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri, Diaby, van Persie.

Roma managed the impressive feat of finishing as group winners despite their disastrous start to their domestic campaign. At their worst time the capital club went as lowly as 17 in the standings. Things looked different on the European stage and the most impressive victory came at home where they thumped Chelsea by 3-1.

Fantastic form with a few dips scattered throughout the season has still landed the Giallorossi in a respectable sixth place with only two points separating them from a Champions League spot. Just like their opponents, Roma are out of the Scudetto race with 15-point gap up to leading Inter.

Roma heavily relies on enthusiasm and motivation to do well in their performance. Therefore the win against Siena on Saturday will work well as a confidence booster and on top of that the club’s talismanic captain Francesco Totti is finally back from his persistent injury lay off.

Luciano Spalletti comes without the suspended duo of Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perotta and is suffering from a defensive crisis as both Juan and Cicinho limped off with injuries against Siena last Saturday. With want-away Christian Panucci dropped out of the cup, Spalletti will have a real head scratcher.

Roma probable starting XI: Doni, Cicinho, Mexes, Diamoutene (Juan), Riise, Brighi, De Rossi, Taddei, Perrotta, Totti, Baptista.

Poor play and injuries have shattered both clubs’ domestic campaigns and all that is left for them are their respective domestic cup and the Champions League. Expect surprises as the team with most focus and effectiveness in front of the goal will be the ones to snatch up the points.

Player to watch: Francesco Totti’s joke about not being able to play in Tuesday’s clash against Arsenal was ill-advised but the captain quickly set the record straight. Roma has fallen and risen without their most iconic player this season but hopefully his presence on the pitch will help his teammates bring their game up another notch instead of the other way around.

Inter Milan vs. Manchester United

24 Feb 2009 20:45:00 CET
Giuseppe Meazza—Milano
Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

Inter had grown tired of Roberto Mancini and the ever evading Champions League title despite the fact that the former Inter player guided the club to two consecutive Scudettos. When José Mourinho arrived at Inter at the start of the season calcio fans everywhere expected great things from the "Special One"—if anyone could bring the Milan club their long overdue European glory it would have to be the Portuguese mastermind.

Inter did little to impress on their way to qualification with defeats to both Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen as they qualified as runners up to the knockout stages—collecting a lowly eight points along the way, Mourinho’s worst record in the group stages ever. Inter will have to do world’s better in order to stand a chance against the reigning European champions.

Not only that, but it’s time for Mourinho to deliver.

The Italian champions continue on to churn out the results despite less than convincing performances which could perhaps be viewed upon as a rather admirable quality as it is almost certain to land them their third consecutive title come May. This was, however,  only supposed to be a byproduct of Mourinho’s presence considering the main reason he was brought in by Inter president Massimo Moratti was to guide Inter to the Champions League trophy.

Despite rumors of unrest in the squad with several disciplinary actions taken by the Portuguese tactician towards his players some have come to shine more than others. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues on to play a vital role for the club but it is his teammate and goalkeeper Julio Cesar that has been stealing the headlines as of lately as he has been increasing the competition against Gianluigi Buffon for the title of "World’s best goalkeeper".

Inter Milan probable starting XI: Cesar, Maicon, Cordova, Chivu, Santon, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Maxwell, Muntari, Ibrahimovic, Adriano

Manchester United has, just like their Italian counterparts, won back-to-back league titles on sail towards a third. One major factor does, however, separate these two teams, and that is the Champions League trophy the Englishmen lifted last season—a feat they hope to repeat this season as well.

Despite winning the trophy during the previous season, United had some troubles getting through their group stages. Two wins and four draws was enough to ensure them as group winners. Even though Alex Ferguson’s men failed to impress in the Champions League group stages, they have done more than so in the Premier League and by claiming the title of best club in the world.

The Englishmen are coming into the game with a defensive crisis. Nemanja Vidic is set to sit out a ban, but—to add insult to injury—both Gary Neville and Wes Brown are out injured while John O’Shea and Jonny Evans still remain uncertain cards. There have been discussions about moving midfielders down to rearguard positions but so far nothing is certain. Apart from the defensive crisis both Owen Hargreaves and Anderson are unavailable.

Manchester United probable starting XI: Van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand, O’Shea, Rafael da Silva, Ronaldo, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Berbatov, Rooney

Perhaps the most prestigious fixture of all eight games as this particular one is sure to be the most intense by far. An old rivalry comes to life as Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho once again go head to head to try out their muscles. Another one is obviously between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo in determining in which player really is the world’s best.

Player to watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is notorious for playing below par in prestigious games and has for the past two seasons in Inter done nothing to contradict that statement. If he is not to give Cristiano Ronaldo something to smile about after the game he will need to break free from the curse that is tying him from claiming the status of world’s best player.

Chelsea vs. Juventus

25 Feb 2009 20:45:00 CET
Stamford Bridge—London
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Last season Chelsea played in the Champions League final and—after being tantalizingly close to European glory—they were defeated by Manchester United on penalties.

The London club won three of their group stage fixtures along with two draws and one defeat—at the hands of AS Roma—as they continued on as runners up in their group behind the Italians to the knockout stages.

After the successful Mourinho era, Chelsea has stuttered somewhat in their domestic league and has seen Manchester United winning to back-to-back league titles for the past couple of seasons. Luiz Felipe Scolari took over the reins at the start of the season and the promises about greater things to come weren't far behind.

After around seven months on the post "Big Phil" was given the sack due to poor results and unrest within the squad and about a week ago Russia coach Guus Hiddink accepted to take charge of Chelsea until the end of the season.

Last weekend the Blues landed a somewhat convincing victory after weeks of poor results which will no doubt act as a confidence booster ahead of a clash against Juventus as they continue in their search for their style of play.

Chelsea probable starting XI: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole, Mikel, Ballack, Lampard, Kalou, Anelka, Drogba

Historical Juventus are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence due to the aftermaths of Calciopoli. The pundits that wrote them off prior to the draw were all the more certain in their predictions after the Bianconeri were drawn alongside the likes of Real Madrid and UEFA cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg.

Juventus went on to collect three wins and three draws, topping their group before Real Madrid—which they defeated twice. Comeback kings? To say very the least.

After a somewhat poor start to the season, the Turin club picked up their game only to once again slump back to their poor form after the Christmas break. Juventus are currently second in the standings and have done so with their injury-plagued squad is quite a feat in itself.

The Bianconeri has, however, managed to pick up their game in due time and the last couple of weeks has showcased an improvement as the injury list continues on to release names back to Ranieri’s disposal.

Juventus probable starting XI: Buffon, Grygera, Chiellini, Mellberg, Molinaro, Camoranesi, Tiago, Poulsen, Nedved, Del Piero, Amauri

This season both clubs has had their shares of ups and downs which includes both results on the pitch and poor form. But they are now entering the crucial part of their respective campaigns. For obvious reasons it will be a special game for Claudio Ranieri who coached the team four years prior to José Mourinho’s big entrance. Expect an even game and all the fireworks that it includes.

Player to watch: Alessandro Del Piero is notorious for stepping up his form in big games as his motto seem to be "the bigger the game, the greater the performance." Il Capitano is the reason behind Juventus’ successful group stage campaign and will without a doubt play a leading role against Chelsea.