FC Porto vs Spartak Moscow : Spartak test for favourites Porto

 FC Porto vs Spartak Moscow Match Preview :
Europa League favourites FC Porto have been drawn against Spartak Moscow in the quarter-finals, as the runaway Portuguese league leaders look to add the trophy to their three previous continental triumphs.

GettyImagesFC Porto's last taste of European silverware came in the 2004 Champions League

Porto first won the European Cup in 1988, with the Portuguese giants adding the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League to their cabinet under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

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For opponents Spartak Moscow, a quarter-final spot represents their furthest progress in a major European competition since 1998, when they lost to Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup semi-finals.
The winners of Porto v Spartak will play either Villarreal or Dutch champions FC Twente in the semi-finals. Villarreal have looked hugely impressive in the knockout stages thus far, disposing of domestic high-fliers Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen in the last-32 and last-16 respectively.
The other half of the draw sees a meeting of Benfica and PSV in a rematch of the 1988 European Cup final. The Dutch giants emerged victorious on that occasion and Fred Rutten's side will fancy their chances of repeating that success as they are currently top of the Eredivisie table.

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Waiting for the winner will be Braga or Dynamo Kiev, who both knocked out English sides (Liverpool and Manchester City) in the last-16.
The matchdays are:
Quarter-finals: April 7 and 14
Semi-finals: April 28 and May 5
Final (Dublin): May 18

Barcelona head into their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash against Shakhtar Donetsk in buoyant mood.

Barca striker David Villa admits to concerns over his recent lack of goals at club level.
Barca now boast an eight-point advantage over Real Madrid at the Primera Division summit with only eight games remaining after Pep Guardiola's men took full advantage of Madrid's shock home defeat to Sporting Gijon by beating third-placed Villarreal 1-0.
Gerard Pique was Barca's match-winner in that game as Villa again failed to end his goalscoring drought for the Catalan giants.
Although he recently became Spain's record goalscorer with a brace against the Czech Republic, Villa has not found the back of the net in his last six outings for Barca - having previously struck in four successive matches and notched 21 goals for the club since his big-money summer move from Valencia.
Villa said: "Whenever you don't score you get a little worried, but what I have to do is work hard in training and in games and be calm.
"You have hardly any time to decide what to do (in front of goal), and sometimes you decide well, and other times you make a bad choice and don't score.
"A goal will arrive and if I don't score a team-mate will."
Despite Villa's barren spell, Barca have barely broken stride, winning seven and drawing the other of their last eight games to continue their bid for a second treble in three seasons.
It is looking especially good in La Liga, but Villa said: "To have an eight-point lead with eight games left is a considerable difference, but we must not fall into the error of thinking we are champions. Right now only we can lose the league."

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Barca are also in the final of the Copa del Rey, where they face Real Madrid later this month, while on Wednesday they will hope to further boost their hopes of Champions League success when they host Shakhtar in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.
Villa, who has never reached the semi-finals before, said: "When you come into a game after losing or drawing, everyone knows you have to put it behind you and concentrate on the next match, but the same thing holds true if you've just won.
"We are playing at home, in front of our fans, and we need a good result so as not to suffer too much in the return leg."
Shakhtar are underdogs against the 2006 and 2009 European champions, but the Ukrainian outfit know what it is like to win at the Nou Camp.
They won 3-2 in the Catalan city in 2008 - albeit against a much-changed home side - while Shakhtar also pushed Barca all the way in the final of the 2009 UEFA Super Cup before going down to a Pedro Rodríguez goal in the 115th minute.
Shakhtar captain Darijo Srna heaped praise on Barca, but warned Guardiola's men that his side have nothing to lose heading into Wednesday's game.
He said in www.sport.es: "We are facing an immense team, they are the best team in the world and in my view I think they are the best football team in history.
"We've already achieved our goal of being among the best eight teams in Europe. It's a great success, and now we feel no pressure, we're going to go out on the pitch and play football.

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"It will be tough, but I can promise our fans that we are going to give it everything. We're going to try and get a good result there because we know that it's very difficult for any team to beat us at the Donbass Arena."
Srna was on the mark as Shakhtar warmed up for Wednesday's game with a 3-1 win at Illychivets Mariupol on Friday, leaving Mircea Lucescu's side 12 points clear at the top of the table.
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho made his return in that match after seven months out injured.

Chelsea Vs Man U : The two giants of English football meet again

Chelsea vs Man United Preview :

Frank Lampard insists revenge is the furthest thing from his mind ahead of Chelsea's UEFA Champions League clash with Manchester United.

The Blues face United twice in the next week in a quarter-final which is a repeat of their agonising final defeat in Moscow three years ago.
Wednesday's first leg will be Lampard's 500th Chelsea appearance and there is no doubt which was his most painful game for the club.
But the 32-year-old was adamant tonight that he was too old to bear a grudge over events of May 2008.

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"I really promise you, revenge certainly isn't in our minds," said the midfielder, who scored the equaliser in a final which Chelsea lost on penalties.
"When you play for a long period of time, as I have here, you see the ups and downs. You collect them.
"You don't any feel thoughts of revenge or anything against anyone.
"You understand you can't always be successful and win."
United have not won at Stamford Bridge for nine years, a situation Patrice Evra is at a loss to explain.
"It is something very strange," he said.
"Always we have the sensation we have played very well against Chelsea. In the end, at Stamford Bridge we always lose.
"Five weeks ago, there was only one team on the pitch. One year ago, we lost to a strange decision.
"The key is our concentration. We can play better than them but we must concentrate until the last minute."
For the first time in a while, Sir Alex Ferguson is having to give some thought to the defensive make-up of his team.

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Jonny Evans' availability after a domestic suspension offers an instant enhancing of his squad strength but it is the knowledge that Rafael and Rio Ferdinand made the trip south on Tuesday afternoon which is just as important.
Both would be part of Ferguson's first-choice back four, although for Ferdinand in particular, the dilemma over whether to pick him is thanks to a combination of the 32-year-old's own rustiness after two months on the sidelines with a calf strain and Chris Smalling's outstanding form alongside Nemanja Vidic.

Tottenham Hotspur's VS Real Madrid: Ronaldo,Marcelo And Kaka return for whites

Ronaldo, Marcelo and Kaka return for the Whites, who have yet to concede a goal on their home turf in Champions League play
The most important match of the season is upon us. In the words of Mourinho, it’s “a match that a lot of people want to play in but are unable to.”
The message sent by the head coach, Arbeloa, Carvalho and Xabi Alonso has certainly hit home, and Madridistas expect another clean sheet performance to follow the four previous Champions League matches played at the Bernabeu this season. Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Kaka will all suit up having recovered from injury.
There’s no greater motivation than qualifying for their first Champions League semifinal berth in eight years. The team knows it as do the fans. “We yearn for a Bernabeu that drives us to victory; don’t miss it,” commented Arbeloa, who is more than familiar with the atmosphere that awaits. With tickets practically sold out and so much on the line, Madridistas are sure to turn out in full force in support of their team.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Kaka all worked overtime to be fit by Tuesday. Their speedy recoveries speak words of their desire to get in on the action. Only Gago, Benzema and Pedro Leon remain unavailable due to injury, while Albiol and Canales were left off the squad list based on a coaching decision.

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Only Tottenham stand in Real Madrid’s way. While Mourinho recovered some key pieces to his tactical game, the same can be said for Harry Redknapp, who will see both Gareth Bale and William Gallas dress. Former Madridista Rafael van der Vaart expressed the sentiment with which Spurs made the trip to the Spanish capital. “We have nothing to lose,” he commented to the media.
Spurs have lost on all five previous occasions against Mourinho, but against Milan they proved they are more than capable of winning on the road. Despite not winning as visitors in the group stage, they did score a total of eight goals and along with Real Madrid Spurs currently lead the Champions League with 19 goals scored to date. With players of the likes of Modric, Van der Vaart, Lennon, Bale, Defoe, Pavlyuchenko and Crouch, the Whites will have their hands full come Tuesday.
Combining Spurs’ offensive fire power with the added value of scoring as visitors, keeping a clean sheet will be crucial to Real Madrid’s chances. Mourinho’s men are well versed at not conceding goals in Champions League play and they hope to maintain their form against Tottenham. The players yearn for a “Bernabeu that drives them to victory” and the fans can almost smell the semifinals in the distance. Stick the two together under the same roof and they can make it happen.

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Inter Milan Vs Schalke 04

Inter Milan Vs. Schalke 04 04/05/11 

Inter host Schalke in a UEFA Champions League First Leg tie at the San Siro

Schalke 04 Vs. Inter Milan

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The Champions League is now in its Quarterfinal stage, where the games will become all the more important and teams will oblige with more focus and effort. This one is Germany versus Italy as Inter Milan host Schalke in the First Leg Quarterfinal match at the San Siro.
 
Inter Milan are coming off an awful defeat in the Milan Derby, as they lost to city rivals AC Milan by a 3-0 score line. The Nerazzurri looked tired and flat with the main players in Samuel Eto’o and Wesley Sneijder pretty much non-existent figures, and the absence of Lucio was all the more apparent when looking at the defense. However, the current holders can feel good in the fact that they have already overcome German opposition in the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich in the last round and have an overall home record of 10-1-5 against German sides. Coach Leonardo has to feel like his team is favorites to go through, but he will once again be without Giampaolo Pazzini as he is “Cup Tied”. This might open the door for Diego Milito, who has struggled this season but is still incredibly dangerous.
 
As for Schalke, not many people gave this team a chance against Valencia but they have made it to the last 8 and are looking to make it to their first ever Semifinals. This club has gone through a lot of change as of late, with the main one being the sacking of Felix Magath and the return of Ralf Rangnick as coach. Although this team has had a disappointing league season sitting in 10 th place, they are getting key performances from the likes of Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfán. These three players along with the young creative Midfielder Julian Draxler (who is only 17 year old) have been crucial to what the Royal Blues do offensively, but the player that deserves most of the credit for constantly keeping the team in games is captain and Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. He is one of the best keepers in the world and if Schalke is to do the unthinkable he will need to be on his “A game”.

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Although I think Inter will advance and might even with this game I don’t believe it will be as straightforward as most believe. Schalke will look to keep this game close and go into the Second Leg in Germany with something to fight for.

Tottenham Hotspur's VS Real Madrid

Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale fit to face Real Madrid

• Harry Redknapp says injured winger ready for return
• Cristiano Ronaldo may play against medical advice

 

Gareth Bale is expected to play for Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Gareth Bale appears to have overcome a hamstring injury and should be fit to face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, according to Harry Redknapp. Bale, 21, has been dogged by a hamstring strain that forced him to miss Wales's Euro 2012 qualifier with England nine days ago and there has been considerable doubt that he would recover in time to play in the first leg in Spain. But Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, said that Bale trained on Friday and suggested his absence from the goalless Premier League draw at Wigan Athletic on Saturday came with the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu in mind. "I think Gareth should be fit," Redknapp said. "He has been out doing some work with us, did a bit with the fitness coach and trained at about 80%, so I see no reason why he wouldn't be OK. It was just felt that if he played against Wigan then he could stiffen up and he definitely wouldn't play Tuesday." Bale played 90 minutes against West Ham United a fortnight ago, his first completed match since mid-January after a six-week lay-off with a back problem, and reported tightness in a hamstring during a warm-up with his Wales colleagues three days later. He has since progressed beyond work with Spurs' strength and conditioning coach, Nathan Gardiner, to force himself back into contention for the club's biggest European night since their Uefa Cup final win over Anderlecht 27 years ago. Uncertainty over fitness to key players has provided an intriguing subplot ahead of the first leg. Redknapp admitted that William Gallas was unlikely to play while Madrid's manager, José Mourinho, has added to the mind games by suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo could defy medical advice to feature after all.

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Redknapp will make a decision over Gallas on Monday morning but Spurs are keen to give the 33-year-old Frenchman every opportunity to board the plane to Spain since they are desperately short of defensive cover. The captain, Michael Dawson, and Sébastien Bassong are the only two senior centre-backs fit, and it has been confirmed that Alan Hutton needs knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season. "William Gallas is struggling," said Redknapp. "Unless there is a big improvement – on Friday he couldn't even kick a ball – he has no chance. The scan showed nothing apart from bone bruising but he was in a lot of pain. I am hoping he is going to be fit, for sure, his experience is vital to us, so we will give him as long as we can." Spurs' bid to secure a second consecutive top-four Premier League finish took a jolt at the weekend with a jaded performance at the DW Stadium, but Madrid's preparations were also far from ideal as they slipped to a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Sporting Gijón, Mourinho surrendering his personal nine-year unbeaten league home run in the process. Before the weekend Mourinho had announced that Ronaldo, the Brazilian full-back Marcelo and Karim Benzema would all be sidelined against Spurs, but after the game Mourinho suggested the former Manchester United forward might play after all. "If Cristiano Ronaldo plays against Tottenham it is because he and his coach have taken the decision to risk it," Mourinho said. "The medical staff have said that he cannot play. If he does, it is our risk. The medical staff told me that Marcelo is out for two weeks, that Cristiano can play in Bilbao [on Saturday] and that [Karim] Benzema can play in Bilbao or against Tottenham away. But maybe I will go over their heads. Maybe they will kill me if Cristiano and Marcelo play. If they do play, it is my risk. The doctors say no."                          Watch Now Live