Premier Soccer News

In just under 2 hours time (as of time of writing) Liverpool will run up against the mighty Inter at the San Siro cauldron. I will be watching this with eager anticipation!

(teamtalk.com)

Of course, liverpool are the team to watch now both on and OFF the pitch. Very exciting stuff, first, according to various sources,  Hicks has vetoed the move by DIC to buy Gillete’s stake. And next Hicks denies doing so. Clearly, things are not right between Hicky, Gilette and DIC. I think Hick’s just being what he is, a greddy grubby old foogey.

On a side note, I want to say how creative Liverpool fans are. ‘Hicky Mouse’, ‘Gilette, the worse a man can get’, ‘The Liverpool Hick-up’ hehe, what will we think of next?

Oh and congratulations to Xabi Alonso! He’s a dad now and he’s not following the squad to face Inter Milan. Personally, I feel Rafa Benetiz is being AN ASS over this issue, I mean what can be more important then watching over your new born child?

MIDWEEK EUROPEAN ACTION

After a ‘torturous’ 2 weeks wait, the 2^nd leg of the UEFA Champions League’s round of 16 is back. This action packed round will see 16 big guns fighting out to qualify for the quarter-finals.

On paper at least, it seems that only Barcelona are bound for a place in the final 8. The only worry is whether their morale-crushing defeat to Atletico Madrid in their domestic league will allow Celtic to hand them a shocking knock out. If it does happen, Barcelona fans will be ruing their team’s inability to win by a bigger margin given their superiority in the first leg. They go into the match at Nou Camp with a 3-2 aggregate advantage over Celtic. Based on pure ability, the Catalans should find this an easy match especially since they will have home ground advantage. However, unless they are able to regain some of the same kind of composure and class they produced in the 1^st leg, they could be in for a rude awakening.

Barcelona’s La Liga rivals Real Madrid will face a sterner test against a Roma side high on confidence after demolishing Parma 4-0 over the weekend in Seria A. Roma skipper Totti will be raring to go and extend their 2-1 lead in the 1^st leg. He was on his best during the 1^st leg and will be hoping to enjoy the reproduce that performance and celebrate a memorable European night. Real Madrid is looking shaky after a run of bad results recently. Will this match be their turning point or ending point?

Sevilla, the UEFA cup winners in 2006 and 2007 will be looking to overturn their 1^st leg 3-2 deficit. Although they lost their La Liga match against Deportivo over the weekend, the Spanish side is well equipped with the attacking flair to knock out their opponents on their home ground.

Manchester United will fight it out with French champions Olympique Lyonnais at Old Trafford, the red devils will seek to extend their away goal advantage from the 1^st leg. Fergie will be hoping to settle this tie early in the game so as to ensure Karim Benzema does not do any damage to United’s 2^nd treble dream. With an attacking unit comprising Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, and not to forget a formidable central defensive partnership starring Ferdinand and Vidic, they will only have themselves to blame should they fail on home ground.

Arsenal has their work cut out for them, with Milan expecting the injured trio Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Nesta and World Player of the Year Kaka to be back in action, the Gunners can get ready for a tough up-hill battle against last year’s European Champions. Will lady luck be smiling again on Arsenal after their last minute equaliser against Aston Villa over the weekend to force a draw on home ground? Wenger would certainly not mind if it happens again as it would mean they can get through on away goal rules, especially with the decisive tie on Milan’s intimidating home ground, The San Siro.

Chelsea showed what they were made of in their 4-0 thrashing of West Ham… with 10 men mind you. If the Blues can reproduce that form, Greek champions Olympiacos should not post too much of a problem for them. But if recent rumours about the problems within Chelsea’s dressing room proves to be true, we might see the near of the end for Avram Grant. He should know that his Russian Boss wants nothing more than winning the prized Champions League Trophy to cap off the impressive achievements in domestic league and cup competitions since buying over the club in 2003. I believe Chelsea still have enough strength in character this season as many of the players would not have easily forgotten the bonding José Mourinho forged into them.

German side Schalke will try to protect their 1-0 lead from the 1^st leg against 2003 UEFA Champions League Winners Portuguese side Porto. The Portuguese might have changed dramatically after that wonderful season but they are not to be underestimated as they sit nicely on top of their domestic league table with 12 points over their nearest rival Benfica. If Kuranyi decides to lace on his scoring boots, it could be an embarrassing elimination for the former 2003 European Champions.

It promises to be an interesting and exciting week for football fans all around the globe as the teams fight for a final 8 position and the right to lift the cup in Moscow come May.

Bryan