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FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP JAPAN2008: A re-match and three firsts

/noticias.info/ The quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League are providing a real treat for fans of English football with four Premier League clubs involved - a record at this stage of the competition. AS Roma will have a chance to erase the memory of last season's thrashing at the hands of Manchester United, while Arsenal will be taking on Liverpool in the all-English tie. The other two fixtures will pitch teams against each other for the first time, namely Schalke 04 - Barcelona and Fenerbahce - Chelsea. As well as three former champions among the last eight (Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona), two teams (Schalke and Fenerbahce) will be gracing the quarter-finals for the first time.

The big match
AS Roma -ManchesterUnited, Olympic Stadium,Rome, 20:45
Roma are the sole Serie A survivors and find themselves up against a Manchester United team which humiliated them 7-1 on 10 April 2007 in the second leg of last year's quarter-final.

The two teams also met in this season's group stages, with United winning at home 1-0 and holding the Italians to a 1-1 draw in Rome. Since then, Sir Alex Ferguson's men have gone from strength to strength, taking charge of the Premier League title race thanks to an incredibly prolific attack (scoring 68 goals at an average of over two per game) which saw them record their sixth consecutive victory on Saturday - a 4-0 win over Aston Villa. Their defence is equally impressive, having conceded a mere 15 goals at an average of fewer than one every two matches.

Roma are currently playing some attractive football but, despite Francesco Totti's 165th goal in Serie A and his eighth this season, still dropped two crucial league points in a 1-1 draw away to Cagliari on Saturday. The centre forward also strained a thigh muscle and will not be available for the visit of the Mancunians. Having knocked out Real Madrid in the previous round, the team from the Italian capital are confident in their own abilities but will have to do without the suspended Simone Perrotta. Also worryingly for the Romans, six more of their players are just one yellow card away from a one-match ban.

Other matches
Arsenal and Liverpool will be feeling a sense of déjà vu before their quarter-final is settled, the pair having to face each other meet three times in eight days thanks to a Premiership showdown between the home and away Champions League fixtures. Last weekend, the Gunners and the Reds had a tough warm-up for the task ahead. Arsenal found themselves a man down and 2-0 behind at half time against Bolton, before battling back to snatch a 3-2 win (their first since 12 February) with a goal in the last minute of normal time. For their part, Liverpool won the Merseyside derby 1-0 against Everton, a resut that all but secures their Champions League participation next season.

Barcelona, on the other hand, are in need of a lift after a sixth defeat of the season saw them slip to third in La Liga. They went down 3-2 to Real Betis despite enjoying a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes. Lionel Messi is still out through injury and is sorely missed, particularly with Ronaldinho having a poor season and seemingly heading for the exit, having fallen out with coach Frank Rijkaard. And while Barcelona have a big enough squad to cause any side problems on their day, the sombre mood in the camp means that Schalke may well be catching them at just the right time.

Chelsea, now second in the Premier League having squeezed past relegation-threatened Middlesbrough 1-0 on Sunday, travel to Turkey to face a Fenerbahce side buoyed by their 2-1 win over rivals Besiktas in front of a capacity crowd.

Players to watch
Cristiano Ronaldo currently leads the competition's scoring charts with six goals, level with Lionel Messi. His game has risen to new heights this season and he is very much the player who makes Manchester United tick. Indeed, last Saturday, he opened the scoring with an audacious back-heel before setting up three other goals for Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, who bagged a brace.

The words
"It's incredible to think that we will have faced Roma six times in the space of a year. It's going to be a fascinating duel since the two teams know each other really well. I think it's going to be a classic European tie." Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager

The numbers game
Manchester United will be playing their 136th Champions League match on Tuesday, putting them ahead of Real Madrid (135), AC Milan (123) and Bayern Munich and Barcelona (both on 118). notas_de_prensa_archivo