03.04. (Tue) 20:45 Barcelona - Milan

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BARCELONA Valdes Dani Alves, Pique, Puyol, AdrianoThiago, Busquets, Iniesta  Sanchez, Messi, Cesc

AC MILAN Abbiati Abate, Nesta, Mexes, Antonini Seedorf, Ambrosini, Nocerino Boateng Ibrahimovic, Robinho

With this Champions League tie finely balanced, Barcelona rested several players in the 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night, but Carles Puyol is set to return to the starting XI against AC Milan with the Catalan captain in line to partner Gerard Pique in defence.

Xavi also sat out of the game at the weekend and is struggling with a muscular problem which means if he is not passed fit, Thiago could hold on to his midfield role. Defender Eric Abidal and striker David Villa, meanwhile, remain on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Left-back Adriano also made his comeback from injury against Athletic and is expected to feature while coach Pep Guardiola confirmed that playmaker Cesc Fabregas is available again after recovering from a back problem. The former Arsenal star is competing for a spot upfront with Pedro alongside Lionel Messi, who was denied by the Rossoneri defence in the first leg, and Alexis Sanchez.

Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri was hoping to have combative midfielder Mark van Bommel available for selection after he was suspended for the first leg, but the 34-year-old was not included in the 23-man squad due to injury so Massimo Ambrosini should once again feature.

Thiago Silva is still out due to a flexor muscle issue, so veteran Alessandro Nesta will again be in at centre-back following his impressive showing at San Siro last week.

A boost for the Rossoneri is that Alexandre Pato, who scored during the 2-2 draw at Camp Nou in the group stage, received treatment in the USA for his persistent muscle problems and has been selected for the match squad. The Brazilian is reportedly ready to feature, though it may be as a substitute with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho looking likely to lead the line once again.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Barcelona have not lost at home in Europe since October 2009, when they were defeated 2-1 by Rubin Kazan.

• The first leg 0-0 draw with Milan marked the first time in 30 matches that Guardiola's men have been held scoreless in Europe.

• Should Messi score, he will break the record of 12 goals in a single Champions League campaign which he currently shares with Ruud van Nistelrooy.

• AC Milan have an all-time record of four wins, five draws and five losses against Barcelona in European competition.

• Allegri's men have yet to win on their travels in the Champions League this season, claiming thee draws and one defeat.

• The Rossoneri defeated Barcelona 4-0 in the 1994 Champions League final in Athens.

Prediction

What's life without a few surprises? The Blaugrana will need some real inspiration to break through an organised Rossoneri, but one imagines that risk taking won't be the order of the day for either side with the visitors likely to play on the counter attack again, it could spell trouble for the hosts if Milan nick an away goal.

Editor's Prediction

Barcelona 1-1 Milan

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03.04. (Tue) 20:45 Bayern Munchen - Olympique Marseille

Loïc Rémy et Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

PROBABLE LINEUPS

BAYERN MUNICH Neuer Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Alaba  Luiz Gustavo, KroosRobben, Muller, Ribery Gomez

OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE Mandanda Azpilicueta, Fanni, N'Koulou, Morel   Cheyrou, M'Bia, Amalfitano  Valbuena, Remy, A. Ayew

Bayern Munich will have to do without vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is serving a one-game suspension after picking up a yellow card in the first leg. Daniel Van Buyten is also sidelined after picking an injury against Borussia Monchengladbach in January.

Toni Kroos, Jerome Boateng, Luiz Gustavo and Thomas Muller will incur a suspension if they are booked on Tuesday.

For Olympique de Marseille, Steve Mandanda is set to return to the first team after serving his one-match ban for the first leg, but Souleymane Diawara will not be able to recover in time for the game against Bayern Munich.

Alou Diarra is suspended for the second leg, while Andre Ayew will have to once again play through the pain barrier as he is postponing surgery on his shoulder until the end of the season.

The Ghanaian will have to be careful not to pick a booking on Tuesday, together with Stephane M'Bia, Jeremy Morel and Morgan Amalfitano, as it will result in a ban for Olympique de Marseille's next game in the Champions League.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bayern Munich have won their last nine home games in all competitions, scoring 32 and conceding four goals.

• The Bavarians have committed 140 fouls in this season's edition of the Champions League; the most of any other team in the quarter-finals. 

• Mario Gomez has scored 38 goals in his last 41 games for club and country.

• Olympique de Marseille won in Germany this season, beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

• Les Phoceens have lost three out of four European ties, in which they have suffered defeat in the first leg.

• Didier Deschamps was part of the Juventus team that lost the 1998 Champions League final to Jupp Heynckes' Real Madrid.

Prediction

Bayern Munich have been in superb form at home in recent times, and with Olympique de Marseille having much bigger worries than the Champions League, it is hard to overlook the Bavarians as favourites.

Editor's Prediction

Bayern 2-0 Marseille

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Champions League Opta Facts - Quarter-finals Second Legs

Bayern Munich v Marseille
• Marseille are now winless in nine consecutive games in all competitions.
• No team has ever managed to progress to the next round following a 0-2 home defeat in the first leg of a Champions League/European Cup knockout tie.
• Mario Gomez has scored on average a goal every 34 minutes at the Allianz Arena this season in the Champions League (10 goals in four appearances at home, excl. qualifier).
• Mario Gomez is only the second German player to score 11 goals in a single Champions League/European cup campaign, after Gerd Müller netted 12 goals in 1972/73.
• Only six teams have been eliminated despite winning away from home in the first leg of a Champions League/European Cup tie, one of them is Bayern Munich (last season v Inter Milan).
• None of Marseille's last four Champions League goals have come before the 85th minute.
• Bayern Munich have won 11 of their last 12 home games in the Champions League.
• Bayern Munich have won their last three Champions League encounters against French opposition, keeping a clean sheet in the process.
• Only Barcelona have scored as many first-half goals as Bayern Munich this season in the Champions League (13).

Barcelona v AC Milan
• In their trip to the Camp Nou earlier this season, AC Milan became only the third team in the Champions League era to score both in the first and 90th minute of a game (including injury time).
• The team drawing the first leg at home 0-0 have a 33% chance of progression in the Champions League/European Cup knockout stage (34 progressed and 64 were eliminated).
• However, AC Milan have always managed to progress to the next round following a 0-0 at the San Siro in the first leg in the Champions League/European Cup knockout stage (three different occasions).
• AC Milan are winless in their last six European encounters against Barcelona.
• The Rossoneri have won just four of their last 16 Champions League games.
• Lionel Messi has scored 30 goals in his last 26 appearances in the Champions League for Barcelona, and 49 overall in this competition.
• However, Messi has scored just one goal in his seven meetings against Italian opponents in the Champions League: from the penalty spot against AC Milan in the group stage this season.
• Xavi has completed 327 passes in his three appearances against AC Milan this season.
• Barcelona have completed more than twice as many passes as AC Milan in this season's Champions League (6608 to 3217).
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored five goals and delivered three assists in his seven Champions League appearances this season.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been caught offside more often than any other player in the competition this season (19).

Real Madrid v APOEL Nicosia
• Real Madrid have always progressed to the next round after winning away from home in the first leg in the knockout stage of the Champions League/European Cup.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has attempted more shots (53) this season in the Champions League than the entire APOEL team (52).
• The aggregate score between Real Madrid and Cypriot sides in European competition is 29-1 in favour of the Merengues.
• In the first leg, José Mourinho's side mustered 28 shots without reply from APOEL: the biggest differential in a single Champions League game this season.
• APOEL are the first-ever Cypriot side to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
• Excluding qualifiers, only one of the 21 matches between Cypriot and Spanish sides in Europe has ended in favour of the team from Cyprus: Anorthosis Famagusta won 2-0 at home vs Athletic Bilbao back in September 1994 in a UEFA Cup match.
• Real Madrid have averaged 4.25 goals scored per game at home in this Champions League campaign.
• Barcelona are the only team to have prevented Real Madrid from scoring in the last 14 Champions League fixtures at the Santiago Bernabéu.
• Karim Benzema is enjoying his most prolific Champions League campaign with seven goals.
• Including his five assists, the Frenchman has been directly involved in 44% of Real's 27 total goals, a higher ratio than Cristiano Ronaldo (29.6%, in light of six goals and two assists).

Chelsea v Benfica
• English sides have always progressed when winning the first leg away from home in the knockout stage of this competition (old and new formats).
• Despite attempting more than twice as many shots as Chelsea in the first leg (25 to 12), Benfica failed to score for the first time in this Champions League campaign.
• Benfica have failed to win any of their last five Champions League meetings against English opposition.
• Chelsea have won all of their four Champions League fixtures at home this season, scoring 14 goals in the process and conceding just one.
• Chelsea have conceded fewer goals at home than any other team in the Champions League this season (one).
• Chelsea have opened the scoring in each of their nine Champions League games this season.
• The Blues have now scored in 10 consecutive European matches for the first time in their history (excl. qualifiers).
• No player has assisted more goals in the Champions League this season than Benfica's Nicolas Gaitán (five, as many as Karim Benzema).
• Didier Drogba has scored five goals in his last five Champions League appearances.
• No side has scored a higher proportion of their goals in the first half of games than Benfica this season in the Champions League (67%, eight out of 12).

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03.-04. 04.2012. Revanš mečevi četvrtfinala lige šampiona, Real i Bajern obezbedili plasman u narednu rundu

Real je prvi polufinalista Lige šampiona. Blizu plasmana među četiri najbolja tima u Evropi je i Bajern, nešto oprezniji moraće u revanšu da bude Čelsi, a Barselona i Milan sa „podjednakim“ šansama čekaće okršaj na „Kamp Nou“ stadionu.Smele snove APOEL-a, prekinuo je nemilosrdni Real. „Kraljevski“ klub, predvođen raspoloženim Benzemom, nije mnogo mario za suze u očima navijača i igrača kiparskog čuda. Poraz od tri gola razlike za izabranike našeg trenera Ivana Jovanovića, pred revanš u Madridu, ravan je eliminaciji, jer čak ni fudbal ne poznaje takva čuda, kakvo bilo potrebno da se tim Žozea Murinja ne nađe u polufinalu najjačeg evropskog takmičenja. Meč na „Santjago Bernabeu“ biće samo otaljavanje već završenog posla za prvotimce Reala i „grebanje“ sveže rane za ponosne fudbalere šampiona Kipra.
Čelsi je i bez „zlatnog strelca“, našeg Baneta Ivanovića, uspeo da dođe do trijumfa u Lisabonu. Benfika je u većem delu susreta na kojem je imala prednost domaćeg terena, bila ravnopravan rival, ali sumnjamo da će iskusniji sastav londonskih „plavaca“, kada je već napravio ovoliki uspeh, dozvoliti sebi luksuz u vidu eliminacije pred svojim navijačima.
Meč između Milana i Barselone, za koji je prva asocijacija bila lepršava igra i efikasnost na obe strane, završio se bez golova. Nerešen rezultat svakako bi trebalo više da brine ekipu Milana, koja se nadala da može da stekne bilo kakvu prednost pred revanš u Barseloni. Na „Kamp Nou“ stadionu, ekipa trenera Gvardiole igra neku „drugu“, teško objašnjivu igru.

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