English invasion starts again with Reds, Blues
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 10, 2009 00:00
PARIS - Liverpool takes on Real Madrid while Chelsea plays at Juventus, hoping to force England's bid to see four teams advance to the next round in the Champions League. Both teams are one step ahead of their opponents
Liverpool and Chelsea hope to complete the first half of an English European master class tonight by reaching the Champions League quarterfinals.
Five-time champion Liverpool, who has been in turmoil off the pitch while trying to chase Manchester United in the Premier League, is 1-0 ahead against nine-time winner Real Madrid after the first leg of their last 16 tie.
In front of an Anfield crowd, comfortably used to European roller coasters, Rafael Benitez's men will be favorites to make the quarterfinals.
But it's a crucial week for Liverpool as it faces United in the Premier League on Saturday where it needs to eat into the champions' seven-point lead. "When you play two games in a week it is not easy to prepare for the next game, so physically and tactically we have been able to do more things," Benitez told the club's official Web site. "This week will be very important. You can talk about crucial games in the season, but these two important games this week could make a very big difference."
Gerrard back
The Reds will welcome back skipper Steven Gerrard while striker Fernando Torres is keen to impress against after suffering an ankle injury in the first leg.
Real, who was out of sorts in a fortunate 1-1 draw with derby rival Atelico Madrid on Saturday as it fell six points behind Barcelona in the Spanish title race, fell to a late away goal through Youssi Benayoun in the first leg. But Madrid's Portuguese stopper Pepe believes Liverpool will come out to attack and that will leave gaps for Real to exploit. "It will be different to the first match because at Anfield I don't think Liverpool will be as defensive as they were at the Santiago Bernabeu," said Pepe. "We have to take advantage of that to qualify for the next round."
Chelsea, last year's runners-up, have the trickier assignment, taking a 1-0 lead to Juventus, coached by Claudio Ranieri, a former coach at Stamford Bridge before being ejected by Roman Abramovich, the club's Russian owner impatient to land the continent's most glittering prize.
Juventus rested a host of first choice players for Saturday's 1-0 derby victory away to Torino and Ranieri, now without Mali midfielder Momo Sissoko because of a broken foot, will tinker again tonight.
"We played three days before (the Torino game) against Lazio and for me it was very important to rotate the players and of course against Chelsea there will be a different team," said the coach. "It's a huge game for us and for Chelsea. We're the underdogs and they are the favorites but in front of our crowd we will try to do something special." Chelsea has been more solid under new coach Guus Hiddink than it was with Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The Blues also have the added bonus of Michael Essien coming back to fitness and Didier Drogba returning to form. Essien played 35 minutes of Saturday's FA Cup victory against Coventry and Hiddink is considering him for tonight. Drogba, however, is a certainty to start. "He's dangerous and I think he's very good for the team as well," said Hiddink.
Should Liverpool and Chelsea win, then Manchester United and Arsenal can make it four English sides in the last eight if they beat Inter Milan and Roma respectively tomorrow night.
Bayern Munich is 5-0 ahead against Sporting Lisbon and with his team virtually assured of a place in the last eight, coach Jurgen Klinsmann will make changes to his team for tonight. Luca Toni and Franck Ribery both will be missing with injuries for the second leg.
Squad players such as Argentina forward Jose Ernesto Sosa, Brazilian defender Breno, defender Andreas Ottl and reserve goalkeeper Hans Joerg Butt look set to feature.
In Athens, Panathinaikos and Villarreal are 1-1 with the Greeks favored to qualify having won eight and lost just one of nine ties in the Champions League when they have drawn the first leg on their travels.
Five-time champion Liverpool, who has been in turmoil off the pitch while trying to chase Manchester United in the Premier League, is 1-0 ahead against nine-time winner Real Madrid after the first leg of their last 16 tie.
In front of an Anfield crowd, comfortably used to European roller coasters, Rafael Benitez's men will be favorites to make the quarterfinals.
But it's a crucial week for Liverpool as it faces United in the Premier League on Saturday where it needs to eat into the champions' seven-point lead. "When you play two games in a week it is not easy to prepare for the next game, so physically and tactically we have been able to do more things," Benitez told the club's official Web site. "This week will be very important. You can talk about crucial games in the season, but these two important games this week could make a very big difference."
Gerrard back
The Reds will welcome back skipper Steven Gerrard while striker Fernando Torres is keen to impress against after suffering an ankle injury in the first leg.
Real, who was out of sorts in a fortunate 1-1 draw with derby rival Atelico Madrid on Saturday as it fell six points behind Barcelona in the Spanish title race, fell to a late away goal through Youssi Benayoun in the first leg. But Madrid's Portuguese stopper Pepe believes Liverpool will come out to attack and that will leave gaps for Real to exploit. "It will be different to the first match because at Anfield I don't think Liverpool will be as defensive as they were at the Santiago Bernabeu," said Pepe. "We have to take advantage of that to qualify for the next round."
Chelsea, last year's runners-up, have the trickier assignment, taking a 1-0 lead to Juventus, coached by Claudio Ranieri, a former coach at Stamford Bridge before being ejected by Roman Abramovich, the club's Russian owner impatient to land the continent's most glittering prize.
Juventus rested a host of first choice players for Saturday's 1-0 derby victory away to Torino and Ranieri, now without Mali midfielder Momo Sissoko because of a broken foot, will tinker again tonight.
"We played three days before (the Torino game) against Lazio and for me it was very important to rotate the players and of course against Chelsea there will be a different team," said the coach. "It's a huge game for us and for Chelsea. We're the underdogs and they are the favorites but in front of our crowd we will try to do something special." Chelsea has been more solid under new coach Guus Hiddink than it was with Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The Blues also have the added bonus of Michael Essien coming back to fitness and Didier Drogba returning to form. Essien played 35 minutes of Saturday's FA Cup victory against Coventry and Hiddink is considering him for tonight. Drogba, however, is a certainty to start. "He's dangerous and I think he's very good for the team as well," said Hiddink.
Should Liverpool and Chelsea win, then Manchester United and Arsenal can make it four English sides in the last eight if they beat Inter Milan and Roma respectively tomorrow night.
Bayern Munich is 5-0 ahead against Sporting Lisbon and with his team virtually assured of a place in the last eight, coach Jurgen Klinsmann will make changes to his team for tonight. Luca Toni and Franck Ribery both will be missing with injuries for the second leg.
Squad players such as Argentina forward Jose Ernesto Sosa, Brazilian defender Breno, defender Andreas Ottl and reserve goalkeeper Hans Joerg Butt look set to feature.
In Athens, Panathinaikos and Villarreal are 1-1 with the Greeks favored to qualify having won eight and lost just one of nine ties in the Champions League when they have drawn the first leg on their travels.