This is a tough draw for both teams who will play each other a few times between match ups in the Champions League. This is a classic match up of European soccer vs. Premier League soccer, as Liverpool always performs well in European play, while Arsenal always battles for the Premier League title. Things are no different this year, as Liverpool made it to the quarters of Champions League and are 4th in the Premier League, while Arsenal was recently surpassed by Chelsea for the 2nd spot after losing to them on Sunday. Even though Liverpool is moving up and Arsenal is moving down I think this is Arsenal’s year, as they will dispatch of Liverpool in the quarters.
AS Roma over Manchester United
Manchester United is playing the lone Italian A League team in the quarters in AS Roma. AS Roma wants a little revenge after last year’s spanking at Old Trafford. Even though Man U looks better on paper AS Roma I playing great soccer and would battling for the Italian League title if they had not lost a recent game to cross town rival Lazio. In the last round of Champions League AS Roma shocked Real Madrid in impressive fashion and they will do it again as Totti and company will advance to the quarters. This match up will be the most exciting one to watch in the quarterfinals, as both teams have an abundance of offensive weapons. Lets hope the fans of both teams do not clash violently, as they have in recent match ups.
Barcelona over Schalke 04
Barcelona may have been the most impressive team in the first round of the knock out phase against Celtic, but they will be without Messi, which greatly hurts their attack. Still Barcelona is playing great and is now only 4 points behind Real Madrid in Spain’s Primera Division. Schalke 04 is a solid team, but are only 5th in the Bundisliga standings. Their only chance is to play defensive and hope for low scoring games, as they do not have the firepower that Barcelona has. Ronaldinho is over his mid-season funk and is playing better and getting more time on the pitch.
Chelsea over. Fenerbahce
Perhaps no team is hotter than Chelsea right now recently surpassing Arsenal for second after beating them at home 2-1 to take over 2nd place in the Premier League. They got the easiest match up in the quarters in Fenerbahce, who has never been this far in Champions League play. Avram Grant has done a great job for the Turkish team, but they simply do not have enough talent to content with the likes of Chelsea. Didier Droghba is unstoppable right now and he will be hard to contain. He scored two goals in Chelsea’s huge win over Arsenal last Sunday. Chelsea should have no problem reaching the semifinals.
