15.03. (Tue) 20:45 Manchester Utd. - Olympique Marseille

DID YOU KNOW?

* Manchester United have never lost to a French team in European competition at Old Trafford, in 11 ties they have won eight and drawn three times.

* Sir Alex Ferguson’s team have the meanest defence in the Champions League this season. The Red Devils have conceded just one goal, against Valencia when Pablo Hernandez scored back in December.

* However, United have also struggled for goals in the competition and have managed just two in front of their own fans in Europe this season (against Valencia and Bursaspor).

* Manchester United also possess the best disciplinary record in the Champions League this season, having picked up just three bookings.

* The Red Devils have scored just seven goals in the tournament this season, with each goal coming from a different player (Anderson, Hernandez, Rooney, Fletcher, Obertan, Bebe and Nani).

* Marseille arrive at Old Trafford having now gone 512 minutes (over five games) without conceding a goal.

* Indeed the last goals scored against the French champions came in England, at Stamford Bridge, when John Terry and Nicolas Anelka secured a 2-0 win for Chelsea.

* The last time Marseille reached the quarter-finals they went on to win the competition, back in 1993.

* The French side have lost just one of their last 10 games, against league leaders Lille 2-1, the winning goal coming in the 90th minute.

* Marseille have won just once on English soil, back in 2007 when they beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.

LAST MEETING

February 23, 2011: Marseille 0-0 Manchester United

The two sides played out a drab draw in the first leg at the Stade Velodrome with chances at a premium at both ends.

Sir Alex Ferguson felt Marseille should have been reduced to 10 men in the second half after Wayne Rooney appeared to be pulled back when running through on goal but also admitted that 0-0 could prove to be a “dangerous score” for the Red Devils.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs; Hernandez, Rooney.

Marseille: Mandanda; Fanni, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Mbia; Lucho Gonzalez, Cheyrou; Valbuena, Remy, Ayew.

Prediction

Man Utd. 3-1 Marseille  

Read More

15.03. (Tue) 20:45 Bayern Munchen - Inter

DID YOU KNOW?

* Bayern Munich lost 2-0 to Inter on November 23, 1988 in the UEFA Cup which is tied for their heaviest home defeat in European action.

* Mario Gomez leads the team in scoring with seven goals in the Champions League including the late strike against Inter in the first leg at San Siro.

* Die Roten's overall home record against Italian teams is: W 6, D 5, L 4.

* In 20 UEFA competition ties in which they have won the first leg away, Bayern have advanced to the next round.

* Bayern have won all three of their previous penalty shoot-outs in UEFA club competitions.

* Inter striker Samuel Eto'o also has seven goals in the competition, one behind Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts.

* Diego Milito and Thiago Motta have been ruled out of the crunch clash through injury while Lucio is unlikely to feature as well.

* Facing German opposition on foreign soil, Inter's record is: W 4, D 7, L 4.

* Inter beat Bayern in last year's final and have avoided defeat in their last two visits to Munich.

* The Nerazzurri signed 18-year old talent Christoph Knasmuellner from Bayern in January. The Austrian is not in Inter's Champions League squad, however, and will miss the game.

LAST MEETING

February 23, 2011: Inter 0-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern goalkeeper Thomas Kraft stood tall and proud between the sticks until the Bavarians were able to capitalise on one of their many chances late in the game. Arjen Robben's low drive was spilled by Inter shot-stopper Julio Cesar and Mario Gomez was on hand to pounce on the rebound in injury time, giving the Germans a one-goal advantage heading into to the second leg at the Allianz Arena.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Bayern Munich: Kraft; Lahm, Gustavo, Badstuber, Pranjic; Ribery, Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger, Robben; Mueller, Gomez

Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Ranocchia, Chivu; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Stankovic; Sneijder; Pandev, Eto'o

Prediction

After both teams spurned a plethora of scoring chances in the first leg, expect a lot of fireworks at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening. The onus will be on Inter to attack from the opening whistle and Leonardo's men will overturn their first-leg deficit thanks to the heroics of Samuel Eto'o.

Bayern Munich 2-3 Inter Milan

Read More

13-03-2011 21:00 Sevilla - Barcelona

DID YOU KNOW?

* Sevilla are unbeaten in their last four home games, grabbing three wins and a draw.

* The last four games in which Sevilla have been unable to score have all ended 0-0.

* Alvaro Negredo has hit the frame of the goal more times than any other player this season, rattling the woodwork five times.

* Sevilla are the only side to concede four David Villa goals in a single league game. That was in 2004, when the Asturian forward was playing with Zaragoza.

* Barcelona have not suffered defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in four years.

* The Blaugrana are also undefeated in their last seven league games against Sevilla.

* In those last seven meetings, Sevilla have only scored one goal in the first half.

* Barcelona have scored in every one of the last 15 league games against Sevilla.

* In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Barcelona have scored the most this season with 14 goals in that period, whilst Sevilla have conceded the most with 10.

LAST MEETING

October 30th, 2010: Barcelona 5-0 Sevilla

Braces from both David Villa and Lionel Messi were bolstered by a Dani Alves goal, to hand Barcelona a dominant win.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Sevilla: Varas; Navarro, Fazio, Caceres, Dabo; Perotti, Rakitic, Medel, Navas; Kanoute, Negredo

Barcelona: Valdes; Maxwell, Abidal, Pique, Alves; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Villa, Messi, Pedro

Prediction

Barcelona are flying high, and you can expect them to continue that form in this game. Sevilla will not make it easy for them, but their inconsistency this season points too a heavy defeat.

Sevilla 1-1 Barcelona

Read More

13-03-2011 20:45 Parma - Napoli

DID YOU KNOW?

* Parma are currently placed 15th in Serie A with 29 points from 28 matches, just a point above the relegation zone.

* The Ducali have not won in their last seven encounters and have drawn their last three.

* Pasquale Marino’s side have conceded 10 goals from outside the penalty area, the highest number in the league.

* The Crociati have won seven of their 11 Serie A matches against Napoli at the Tardini.

* Parma lost the reverse fixture 2-0 in Naples, with striker Edinson Cavani scoring both the goals

* Napoli are third in the league standings at the moment with 53 points from 28 matches, eight points behind leaders Milan.

* Cavani is the league's second highest scorer, having netted 20 times so far this campaign.

* The Partenopei have not scored in their last two matches. If they fail to find the target against Parma, then it will be the first time since March 2009 that Napoli would have failed to do so in three fixtures.

* Walter Mazzarri’s side have lost five of their last eight away matches but have won the other three.

* The Azzurri have scored 16 goals in the last 15 minutes of their games.

LAST MEETING

November 7, 2010: Napoli 2-0 Parma

Edinson Cavani was the star of the show last time the two sides confronted each other. The Uruguay international striker broke the deadlock after just 19 minutes and ensured the points for the former Italian champions four minutes from full time.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Parma: Mirante; Zaccardo, Paci, Lucarelli; Valiani, Morrone, Dzemaili, Modesto; Candreva; Crespo, Bojinov

Napoli: De Sanctis; Santacroce, Cannavaro, Ruiz; Zuniga, Pazienza, Yebda, Vitale; Hamsik; Lavezzi, Cavani

Prediction

Napoli appear to have taken a downward spiral in recent days and will be desperate for a win to revive their Scudetto challenge. Parma are struggling for survival and Walter Mazzarri's visiting team should eventually garner the points.

Parma 1-2 Napoli

Read More

13-03-2011 17:45 Manchester City - Reading

DID YOU KNOW?

* Manchester City's £27 million January signing Edin Dzeko has scored in both his FA Cup appearances but has yet to find the back of the net in seven Premier League appearances.

* City have not lifted a major piece of silverware since they beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the 1976 League Cup final.

* City have needed a replay in two of their three FA Cup ties this season.

* Carlos Tevez has scored five goals in his last seven F.A. Cup appearances.

* Of the games following each of their 10 Europa League fixtures this season, City have won six, lost three and drawn one.

* Reading hot-shot Shane Long was on the score sheet the last time the sides met when he netted the opener in the 2-0 Premier League victory on March 8 2008.

* Reading have won three of the last four meetings against City.

* City have needed a replay to beat Reading on the two occasions they've been drawn in the FA Cup.

* Shane Long has scored four goals in his last four FA Cup appearances.

* City and Reading have played each other 22 times in all competitions, with City winning 10, Reading seven and five games being drawn.


LAST MEETING

March 8, 2008: Reading 2-0 Manchester City
Goals from Shane Long and Dave Kitson temporarily lifted the Royals out of the Premier League relegation zone in a campaign in which they were ultimately destined for the drop.


PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Manchester City: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta; Barry, de Jong; Silva, Yaya Toure, Tevez; Dzeko.

Reading: McCarthy; Khizanishvili, Gunnarsson, Ingimarsson, Harte; Karacan, Legiertwood, Howard; Hunt, Long, Robson-Kanu.

Prediction

Mancini's injury-ravaged squad has failed to impress in recent weeks. The scrappy nature of the win against Wigan Athletic is likely to be replicated against Brian McDermott's men.

Man City 2-1 Reading

Read More