SOCCER:THE THREE English clubs remaining in the Champions League will be holding their breath when Gary Lineker makes the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals this morning.
The draw at 11am will be open and unseeded meaning Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham could all face each other, or come up against Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Lineker is conducting the draw at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland in his role as ambassador for the final, which takes place at Wembley on May 28th.
Two of his former clubs are in the last eight – Spurs, at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1962, and Barcelona, who are the bookies’ favourites.
Barca have already knocked out Arsenal but Wayne Rooney insists they hold no fear for Manchester United, who were beaten by the Catalan side in the 2009. “We will be confident we can win whoever we get in the next round,” said the England striker. “If you are going to win this tournament you have to play anyone – and beat them.”
Holders Inter Milan also represent a strong threat after their last-gasp elimination of Bayern Munich, while Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time, have shown against Arsenal and Roma this season they are a force to be reckoned with.
Schalke are the rank outsiders, at least in terms of the bookmakers, and they sacked manager Felix Magath on Wednesday after a disappointing season in the Bundesliga, which sees them currently in 10th position.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is hoping to avoid his former clubs. He said: “I prefer to avoid Chelsea and Inter because emotionally it’s difficult playing against your people and your friends. If we have to play them then we will play them as we are all professionals but I’ll have to forget they are my people. Emotionally I will have to better prepare myself to play Inter or Chelsea.”
The quarter-final ties will be played on April 5th/6th and 12th/13th. The semi-final pairings will also be drawn tomorrow, with the matches on April 26th/27th and May 3rd/4th.
The draw for the Europa League quarter-finals and semi-finals will also take place today. It too will be open and unseeded.
The Europa League final takes place in Dublin on May 18th but there will be no British club in the final as Liverpool, Rangers and Manchester City all bowed out of the competition last night.
THE DRAW for both the quarter and semi-finals takes place this morning (10.30am Sky Sports News). Quarter-finals will be played on 5th/6th and 12th/13th April with the semi-finals on 26th/27th April and 3rd/4th May.
The final is at Wembley on May 28th.
BARCELONA 5/4fav
League Position: 1st in La Liga.
CL this season: P8 W5 D2 L1 F18 A6. Beat Arsenal in last 16
Tournament best: Winners 1992, 2006, 2009.
CHELSEA 5/1
League position: 4th in Premier League
CL this season: P8 W6 D1 L1 F16 A4. Beat Copenhagen in last 16
Tournament best: Runners-up 2008
INTERNAZIONALE 9/1
League position: 2nd in Serie A
CL this season: P8 W4 D1 L3 F 15 A14. Beat Bayern in last 16.
Tournament best: Winners 1964, 1965, 2010.
MANCHESTER UTD 6/1
League position: 1st in Premier League.
CL this season: P8 W5 D3 L0 F9 A2. Beat Marseille in last 16.
Tournament best: Winners 1968, 1999, 2008
REAL MADRID 7/2
League position: 2nd in La Liga.
CL this season: P8 W6 D2 L0 F19 A3. Beat Lyon in last 16
Tournament best: Winners 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002.
SCHALKE 04 40/1
League position: 10th in Bundesliga.
CL this season: P8 W5 D2 L1 F14 A5. Beat Valencia in last 16
Tournament best: Quarter-finalists 1959, 2008, 2011
SHAKHTAR DONETSK 25/1
League position: 1st in Ukrainian PL
CL this season: P8 W7 D0 L1 F18 A8. Beat Roma in last 16
Tournament best: Quarter-finalists 2011
TOTTENHAM 12/1
League position: 5th in Premier League
CL this season: P10 W5 D3 L2 F25 A14. Beat AC Milan in last 16
Tournament best: Semi-finalist 1962.
