By Barnaby Chesterman
PARIS: Old Trafford will be a hotbed of emotion for the visit of temperamental French outfit Lille to Manchester United in the Champions League last 16, second leg today.
United hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg in northern France and are overwhelming favourites to progress to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2003.
But it was the nature of that 1-0 victory which has light a fire under the return leg in England with Lille still feeling an acute sense of injustice.
Wily United winger Ryan Giggs snatched victory for the visitors with a clever quickly-taken free-kick while Lille were still trying to organise their defensive wall.
The Lille players felt so outraged they started to walk off the pitch in what, according to their boss Claude Puel, was an acceptable form of protest, apparently common in the French league but unseen outside of France.
United are almost certain to be missing star England forward Wayne Rooney, who injured his knee against Liverpool on Saturday, while Sweden forward Henrik Larsson should make his penultimate appearance in a red shirt before his loan period ends and he returns to Sweden with Helsingborgs.
Lille also have injury problems with playmaker Yohan Cabaye and top scorer Mathieu Bodmer both out of the return leg but they will at least welcome back right winger Kader Keita.
In London, Arsenal are desperate to save their season but need to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven to do so.
Arsenal trail United by 20 points in the league and in the last 10 days they lost in the final of the League Cup to Chelsea and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn.
Europe, much like last season, remains their only hope for silverware, something not lost on French manager Arsene Wenger.
"If we lose to PSV it will be a big blow but it will not stop the club going forward.
"This team is a machine that nothing can stop progressing. I am convinced of that because of what I have seen of the youngsters.
"The average age of the team that played in the League Cup final was 19. The future is very positive. That is why we have to be strong when we don't win."
Another side with injury difficulties is Real Madrid who travel to Bavaria to face Bayern Munich with a slender 3-2 lead from the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. The galacticos lost midfielders David Beckham and Jose Antonio Reyes for a month after both went down with knee injuries in Sunday's 1-1 league draw against Getafe.
Real do welcome back Raul, who scored a brace in the first leg, but Bayern are confident, knowing that a 1-0 win will be enough to take them through on the away goals rule.
Real coach Fabio Capello is convinced he has enough at his disposal to see his team through.
"With this spirit and quality we can play a good game in Munich. We are only thinking about going through to the quarter-finals," he said.
Bayern have injury doubts over Brazilian defender Lucio and midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic after the pair pulled up in training on Monday.
But French international defender Willy Sagnol is confident collectivity will reign over individual flair in Munich.
The last of the four games takes place in Milan with AC Milan hosting Scottish champions Celtic in a tie delicately poised after a 0-0 first leg draw.Celtic's Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura has warned his team-mates against the Italians' dirty tricks, though, having seen them first hand when playing for Reggina in Italy.
Today's fixtures: Arsenal vs PSV; Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid; Man Utd vs Lille; AC Milan vs Celtic. (AFP)
Cannavaro looking to hit top form
MADRID: Real Madrid's Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro insists that he can put his current slump behind him in today's Champions League last 16 second-leg clash at Bayern Munich.
The 2006 World Player of the Year has not played his best since helping Italy win the World Cup last year.
"I'm not at my top level. I've never had so many yellow cards. It's a strange experience for me. But since the World Cup it has been difficult," Cannavaro told sports daily Marca.
"I've been thinking a lot about this. I've looked at players who reached the World Cup final like (Thierry) Henry and others, and I'm realizing they're not at their best either so I hope that this is the explanation," said Cannavaro.
"When you're not playing your best all you can do is work more." Cannavaro said that Real will be looking for a goal-fest after Bayern netted important away goals in the 3-2 first-leg defeat to the Spaniards at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago.
"We know that we have to score. Otherwise we're dead." he added. (AFP) |
