Monday, March 14, 2011

| by

0

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  

| by

0

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