The draw has now been made for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with an all-Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United the highlight. Spurs face Real Madrid so who might make it to the semi-finals and beyond? (Barcelona 21/20 fav to win Champions League).
United will have fond memories of the last time they faced the Blues in Europe’s elite club competition as they beat Chelsea in the final to win the title back in 2008.
Avram Grant was in charge of Chelsea on that occasion but it will be Carlo Ancelotti in the dug-out opposite Sir Alex Ferguson for the two-legged encounter with the Red Devils.
Chelsea have certainly improved in recent times this term after a disastrous period around the New Year that saw them all but drop out of the Premier League title race, but the big-money Fernando Torres’ transfer has yet to pay off as he has failed to find the back of the net to date.
It is unlikely that his barren spell will last too much longer, however, and the Spaniard could be Chelsea’s trump card as they look to advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
United sit at the top of the Premier League without having hit the heights of previous campaigns but they have been too good for most opposition this term, although recent defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea have given Arsenal a chance of taking the title (Arsenal 17/10 to win Premier League).
But how good they actually are will become apparent in the charged atmosphere of a Champions League encounter with Chelsea and this has all the a makings of a classic (12/5 for English team to win Champs League).
Spurs have been revelation in their first foray into the Champions League but they now face the biggest test against Jose Mourinho’s side.
Victory over Inter Milan proves they fear nobody and with good reason as Harry Redknapp has assembled a talented squad at White Hart Lane who have plenty of goals in them.
Gareth Bale has already shown his class this season in Europe and will surely be a big player over the two legs with the Spanish giants, while Rafael van de Vaart returns to his former club for the first time since leaving last summer.
Mourinho knows all about English football after three years at Chelsea and he will leave nothing to chance in is preparation for the two matches with Redknapp’s men.
Elsewhere Barcelona should have little trouble in seeing off Shakhtar Donetsk, despite the Ukrainians’ 6-2 aggregate success over Roma in the round of 16, while Inter Milan’s away-goals victory over Bayern Munich has landed them a tie with Schalke.
The semi-final draw has also been made and Spurs would possibly have to get past the mighty Barca if they were too make the final, while one of Chelsea or United will play Shakhtar Donetsk or Barcelona in the last four.
There are some excellent match-ups in the quarter-finals but the two games at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge will attract the most interest as John Terry will be looking for some pay back for his penalty miss that costs the west Londoners the title three years ago.
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