The ties for the 2008/09 Europe Champions League quarter finals are:
QF 1 Villarreal - Arsenal
QF 2 Man. United - Porto
QF 3 Liverpool - Chelsea
QF 4 Barcelona - Bayern
The winners from the 1st and 2nd quarter finals will play in the first semi final.
The winners from the 3rd and 4th quarter finals will play in the second semi final.
Villarreal v Arsenal
How they got to the quarter finals.
Arsenal finished second in group G to Porto. In the round of 16 Arsenal got through against Roma in a penalty shootout after the two legs ended at 1 all.
Villarreal also finished second in their group, a point behind Manchester in group E. Villarreal disposed of Panathinaikos 3-2 in the round of 16.
Best result in the champions league.
Arsenals best result was in the 2005/06 season when they were finalists, losing 2-1 to Barcelona.
Villarreal best performance also came in the 2005/06 season losing to Arsenal in the semi-finals 1-0.
Last time they meet.
Was the afore mentioned semi final clash. In the first leg only in London a Kolo Toure goal separated the teams. In the second leg Arsenal just held out against a dominant Villarreal. Jens Lehmann saving a 89th minute penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme.
Key player
Arsenal- Csec Fabregas. Arsenal's captain should be back from injury in time. Arsenal fans will be hoping he can quickly display the form that has made him one of the best young midfielders in the game.
Villarreal- Marcos Senna an international teammate of Arsenal's captain, could find himself directly up against Fabragas. The defensive midfielder play an important role in Villarrael side full of attacking midfield talents.
Predication: Arsenal to progress to the semi finals.
Manchester Unitied v Porto
How they got to the quarter finals.
Man. Untied finished on top of group E. Man. Untied defeated Inter Milan 2-0 in the round of 16.
Porto finished first in group G a point above Arsenal. Porto draw 2-2 with Atletico in the round of 16 going through on the away goals rule.
Best Result in the Champions League.
Man. Untied are defending champions and have also won the cup twice before in the 1967-1968 season and 1998-1999 season.
Porto have also previously won the European cup most recently in the 2003-2004 season as well as the 1986-1987 season.
Last time they meet.
One their way to the title in 2003-2004 Porto met Man. Untied in the round of 16. After the first leg in Portugal Porto were leading the tie with a 2-1 goal advantage. In the second leg Manchester looked to be going through after a first half goal to Scholes until Costinha scored a 90th minute equaliser for Porto allowing the to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
Key Player.
Man. Untied- Nemanja Vidic is arguably the player of the season so far in the EPL and currently one of the best centre backs in the game.
Porto- Lucho Gonzalez the versatile Argentine midfielder is critical to Porto with his leadership skills, hardworking style, accurate passing and fierce shot.
Predication: Man. Untied to win the tie.
Liverpool v Chelsea
How they got to the quarter-finals.
Liverpool finished on the top of group D with 14 points. Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 5-0 in the round of 16.
Chelsea finished second in group A. Chelsea beat Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Best result in the Champions League.
Of the teams remaining in the Champions League Liverpool is the most successful have won it 5 times. Most recently in the 2004-2005 season as well as in 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, and 1983-84.
Chelsea's best result in the Champions League was last season when lost in the final in a penalty shootout to Man. Untied.
Last time they met.
On the way to last years final Chelsea beat Liverpool 4-3 on aggregate in the semi finals. After the first leg at Anfield the score was 1-1 and in the second leg after 90 minutes the score was also 1-1 taking the tie to extra time. Chelsea scored two goals in the first period of extra time and Liverpool could only get a consolation goal with a few minutes remaining.
Key player.
Steven Gerrard. Will go down as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players. Is equal leading scorer in this seasons Champions League with 7 goals. Captained Liverpool when they won in in 2004-2005.
Michael Essien. Recently returned from long term injury turns Chelsea from a very good team into a great one.
Predication: Narrow Liverpool win.
Barcelona v Bayern
How they got to the quarter-finals.
Barcelona finished on top of group C. Barcelona beat Lyon 6-3 in the round of 16.
Bayern Munich finished on the top of group Group F. Munich defeated Sporting Lisbon 12-1 in the round of 16, breaking many records.
Best result in the Champions League.
Barcelona have won the Champions League twice most recently in 2005-2006 as well as in 1991-1992.
Bayern have won the Cup four times. Three times in a row in 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76 and more recently in 2000-2001.
Last time they met.
The last time they played each other was on the 4th of November 1998 in a group match. Giovanni scored first for Barcelona in the 29th minute. Zickler got the the equaliser for Bayern in the 48th minute and Salihamidzic scored the winner for Bayern in the 87 minute.
Key player.
Barcelona- Lionel Messi is currently the best player in the world and is leading goal scorer in the champions league with 7 goals.
Bayern- Franck Ribery is the best player in the German Bundesliga. Brings a lot of flair to the Bayern Munich team.
Predication: Narrow Barcelona win.
If the predications for the the quarter finals are right, the semi finals will be
Arsenal v Manchester Untied and
Liverpool v Barcelona
Semi finals predications:
Manchester Untied win
Liverpool win
Time will tell if I'm right.
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