CHELSEA-PSG PREVIEW.......THE BLUES SET FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT MATCH OF THE SEASON

Chelsea were astonishingly humbled quite easily by Les Parisien at the Parc des Princes six days ago. Now the blues face an almost impossible quest to overturn a 2 goal deficit. Not that it has never been achieved before but this is somewhat different.

                                                 


EL POCHO Lavezzi knows how it feels to be taken apart by Chelsea. The PSG forward was part of the Napoli side that were at the wrong end of a brave comeback by the pensioners after going down 3-1 in Naples. Now, he is more than determined to make amends and tomorrow is the best chance he might ever have. A repeat of the fantastic display he put in last week and the French Champions-elect are in the semis. Not even the absence of ZLATAN will deter the much improved and very ambitious french outfit as they aim to go further in the competition. With the Swede, they glided past a helpless Reims side at the weekend courtesy of goals from Edinson Cavani and two own goals from Reims defender, Aissa Mandi

Jose Mourinho has affirmed that it is 'nearly impossible' to qualify after Javier Pastore's  injury time goal put a dagger through the hearts of the Chelsea faithful. But the message to his troops will be very clear. Score two goals and concede none, we are through. But it is going to be very difficult if not herculean to prevent PSG from scoring at least a goal.

PROBABLE LINEUPS-

CHELSEA:

Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Hazard, Wllian, Eto'o

PSG:

Sirigu, VDW, Silva, Alex, Maxwell, Motta-Verratti-Matuidi, Moura, Lavezzi, Cavani

Jose Mourinho has a clear plan on how he wants to see off the French League leaders on Tuesday night. The Portuguese manager almost clawed back a 4-1 deficit v Dortmund last season , so he is no stranger to these kind of situations. However, the 'striker-less' West London club may have to risk Samuel Eto'o for the game. The Cameroonian marksman has enough in his tank to shoot down PSG but he is now a shadow of his former self. Fernando Torres has lost it totally. No one can place a finger on what really happened to the once prolific attacker. The Spaniard is done. The blues will miss the services of Ramires, Matic and Salah. The former suspended and the other two cup-tied.  In their absences, Mikel and Lampard have to do the job in the middle and David Luiz may also be required to come in and help out. Mourinho will rue the absence of Matic especially because it is in midfield that the french team possess their biggest weapons.

Paris St Germain can look back on their performances so far with pride and gusto and approach this game with all the confidence in the World. They have every reason to go to the Bridge on Tuesday and seek a result that will take them to the last four of the Champions League. Laurent Blanc can secure his place in the annals of the French club's not so rich history if he qualifies them eventually. The club cannot call on the goals, assists and all round display of LE IBRA but the likes of Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez can provide the spark. They are not quite as efficient as Ibra but they are just as effective. Brazilian wonderkid, Lucas Moura has pace to burn. His skills set cannot be treated with kid gloves. His introduction last time unsettled the Chelsea defence and it ilikely that he will be thrown into the fray from the start. Ivanovic and Azpi have to be helped by Hazard and Willian/Oscar or all hopes will be thrown into the trash can. Edinson Cavani has to shoulder the responsibility of scoring the goals needed to send Chelsea packing, He was also part of the Napoli side who thought they had qualified until their bubble was burst and their hopes dashed by Didier Drogba and company. He has an axe to grind with Chelsea. Greg Van der Wiel is back to occupy the right back slot at the expense of Christophe Jallet who admittedly, did little wrong at the PdP. The All Brazilian central defensive partnership will be joined by another Brazilian at left back. Surely a complete team. Matuidi-Motta and Verratti are keeping the likes of Rabiot and Cabaye on the bench. This is not what the latter signed for when he was leaving England but he must have been aware of how arduous it is to break through the MAT-MARCO-MOTTA wall. They are currently among the very best midfield trio in all of football.

Laurent Blanc and Jose Mourinho go head to head again in a battle of tactical supremacy. Fair to say that the Frenchman won the battle last week. Mourinho hates being at the losers' corner. The 'ONLY ONE' will be pleased to take out PSG in a very special night at Stamford Bridge. In the light of recent developments, the blue face an uphill battle to retrieve the deficit. Even Eden Hazard could collapse under this sort of pressure. Chelsea need more than all the talents of WILZARCAR  to triumph on Tuesday night. Stamford Bridge must be rocking.

Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990

REVIEW OF THE UCL QUARTER-FINAL 1ST LEG GAMES

Regularly derided as one of the weakest Leagues in Europe, le Championaat made a big statement and Paris St Germain set the tone for a change of opinion last night when they literally dismembered the Chelsea team in a masterful display that represented Laurent Blanc's finest night in the Champions League. He took Bordeaux this far in 2010 but victory over the blues was a massive result. Despite the unfortunate injury to Ibra (who in fairness was a spectator until he pulled up), les Parisiens still found ways to hurt Mourinho and his men. The result is a 3-1 advantage going into next week's 2nd leg in West London. People may say it is only half time but if you had given PSG just a 1-0 advantage going into the return leg, they would have taken it with open arms. The Parc des Princes was agog was Javier 'EL FLACO' Pastore single handedly danced his way through the much publicised water tight defence and sent a low shot past Peter Cech in his near post to hand his team a two goal advantage heading into the duel at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho was left speechless at the final whistle as his big dogs failed to bite. They barked a little and that was it. The introduction of Lucas Moura caused a lot of problems for the JT led defence and on the basis of his performance last night, Ibra will not be missed if he misses the return leg as we have been made to believe. Of course we know the miraculous ways players recover nowadays, especially as people like Marijana Kovacevic keep on inventing 'quick recovery' treatments. EL POCHO Lavezzi took over the mantle of leadership from Zlatan and made his presence felt in the early parts of the encounter with a left foot volley that sailed past the hapless Cech to gift PSG the lead. Although Eden Hazard equalised midway through the first half from six yards after Silva felled Oscar, Lavezzi restored the advantage when his dangerous free-kick was inadvertently turned in by the unfortunate David Luiz. It was all EL POCHO and Argentina for PSG as they rose to the occasion on the night. Lavezzi loves Chelsea so much. 3 in 3 games v the pensioners goes to show that they are his favourite team in the Champions League.

Laurent Blanc could not have been more content with the display of his boys last night. His pride and excitement know no bounds at the moment. If he leads the French Champions to the semis, it would be his best achievement since he started life as a manager. The french football Legend has turned 'Les Parisien' into a team difficult to surmount. The midfield trio of Blaise, Marco and Thiago held their own. Even if Marco Verratti fails to return from the setback he experienced last night, the likes of Johan Cabaye and Adrien Rabiot can comfortably slot in alongside Matuidi and Motta. The objective is to score at Chelsea and not have the faintest hope/belief that the tie is over. Maybe they can do it. We'll have to wait to find that out.


In Manchester, Bayern Munich attempted 704 passes all through the game with an 84% success rate as against United's 174 with a miserable 58% success rate. But if the likes of Opta, Squawka, MisterChip and Whoscored were to be taken more seriously than the actual outcome of football matches, then the Bavarians would have won by 10 unreplied goals. Despite their dominance all over the pitch, the recently crowned German Champions only scored one and had less clear cut chances than their hosts who were understandably cagey. David Moyes set his team to do damage on counters and Danny Welbeck thought he had put the team ahead inside three minutes but his goal was wrongly chalked off. He had another clear cut chance to put his team in the lead when he shrugged off the shaky Jerome Boateng and set himself for a one on one with Neuer only for him to fluff his lines and the chance went begging. Rooney gave him a mouthful afterwards but that only motivated him to put in one of his best shifts in a United jersey. Bayern ran the show but couldn't produce enough chances to clobber the red army as was initially anticipated. The match ended 1-1 after Nemanja Vidic showed the World he was still capable of doing something on the big days with a thumping header to give United an unlikely lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger quickly evened the score few minutes later but he got his marching orders after lunging in on Wayne Rooney. Chicharito ensured that Javi Martinez will play no further part in the tie after forcing him to be yellow carded when he came on. Bayern have the advantage not only because the 2nd leg will be played at the Allianz Arena or that they have an away goal, but simply because they are the best team in the World. Manchester United will take heart from such a spirited performance. One that the fans have been craving for all this while. as Twitter's @beardedgenius put it in his @mirrorfootball article yesterday. The players are being fraudulent because if such a performance was replicated in the 3-0 losses v City and Liverpool, a different outcome would have be achieved. The red devils have it all to do now in Munich but the first leg proved to everyone that the 20-time English Champions can still challenge for top honours. Score first at the Allianz and who knows? Remains to be seen. Pep Guardiola has been crying foul over the suspension of Schweini and the fact that Wazza dived to ensure the German deep lying playmaker will sit out next week's fixture. But he knows they are bigger fishes to fry. Dante will return but he cannot call upon the services of Thiago. So, he has a lot of big decisions to make next week. David Moyes on the other hand, knows quite well that Ryan Giggs cannot start next week's game. The introduction of Shinji Kagawa (who has yet to lose to Bayern in 5 games-4 wins, 1 draw) added spark and bite to the United team. One would think he has earned the right to gain a starting berth next time out but you never know with Dithering Dave. Whatever his selections are, Danny Welbeck must be the first name on the team sheet next week.


At the Bernabeu, Real Madrid quickly came out of the blocks to start the revenge mission on a once rampant Dortmund team. The same team that prevented them from reaching their first final in more than a decade last season. Tormentor-in-chief, Robert Lewandowski was suspended for last night's match. A big blow to whatever chance they thought they had at the home of the Spanish giants. Gareth Bale scored very early on from a Carvajal pass and from then on, it was all Real Madrid as they added two more courtesy of Isco and serial goal getter, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese scoring machine was appearing for the 100th time in the Champions League and registered his 64th goal in the competition and a record tying 14th goal of the season. It is certain that he will smash the record set by Messi two years ago. Jurgen Klopp was left gobsmacked by the ruthlessness of the ambitious Merengues who have set their sights on a 10th European title termed 'LA DECIMA; by the Madridistas. The Champions League finalists had a lot of chances to score at least one goal but the Gabonese jewel, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (PEA) missed so many chances. Most of those the Bayern bound Lewandowski would have put away without breaking sweat. The midfield was porous without the duo of Bender and Gundogan. Alonso-Modric were at their usual best and the latter stole the ball from a Piszczek loose pass, then set up CR7 for his 45th goal of the season. If he leads Los Blancos to the elusive 10th European trophy, he will certainly be mentioned in the same breath as Di Stefano and Raul Gonzalez Blanco. All the records he met five years ago are getting shattered. The few left will definitely be broken to pieces very soon. Marco Reus and co will have to be more efficient in front of goal if they are to overturn the 3-goal deficit. An almost impossible task but I always refer to the Deportivo side that shocked Milan at the Riazor in 2004.


Finally the Camp Nou played host to one of the most pulsating fixtures of the season. Barcelona v Atletico Madrid pitched two Country men against each other. Two of the best teams on the planet went head to head for the right to be semi-finalists this season. The end result was a 1-1 draw but not without consequences and shortages. Gerard Pique and Diego Costa have been ruled out of the corresponding fixture next week at the Calderon. Los Rojiblancos took the lead early in the second half when Diego Ribas sent an unstoppable shot past Jose Pinto in the Barcelona goal. Thibaut Courtois, whose 26 clean sheets across all competitions this season is breathtakingly unbelievable, regularly thwarted the determined efforts of the Catalans to grab and equaliser and possibly to go on to win. Neymar finally got the goal Barcelona so required but it was all because Andres Lugan Iniesta wears the Barcelona shirt with pride. His through ball, a sumptuous one that reminded me of RuI Costa's to Sheva more than ten years ago, was met first time by Neymar and the resultant effect sent the Camp Nou faithful into elation. But the task will be harder next week when they visit the Calderon. Leo Messi couldn't find a way past Courtois and hasn't for some time now. Only Neymar (2) has scored against Atletico this season but INIESTA will have to turn up yet again if Barcelona's rather slim hopes of progressing are to materialise.


Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990

PSG-CHELSEA PREVIEW

                                             


Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It's the UCL yet again and the other remaining English representative travel to France to play emerging European heavyweights, PARIS ST GERMAIN. Chelsea hope to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United who fought hard to secure a respectable 1-1 draw v the World's greatest team, Bayern Munich. Jose Mourinho has never lost a quarter-final tie in the Champions League. He doesn't intend to start now.

Les Parisien are flying high in the French League. With Le Championaat all but won, they have set their sights on going farther than last season's last eight appearance in the Champions League. Laurent Blanc is no slouch. Although his resume is nothing compared to Jose's. The Les Blues Legend has brought his own style and dimension into the team and it is reaping the right fruits. Swedish magician, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 10 goals in the Champions League is 2nd only to CR7's 13 and that speaks volumes of what the giant attacking god has achieved individually this term. With 40 club goals to his name, this represents his best scoring season since he burst onto the scene. If anything is to happen tonight, Ibra has a big role to play.

For Chelsea, their season is winding down ever so fast and these games are coming in thick and quick. All the games from now till May are important and they cannot afford any slip-ups. Jose Mourinho is a man for the big occasion and he rarely fails to deliver. If it comes down to tactical nous, it is a foregone conclusion.


PROBABLE LINEUPS-

PSG:

Sirigu, VDW, Alex, T.Silva, Maxwell, Verratti, Matuidi, Motta, Lavezzi, Ibra, Cavani

CHELSEA

Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Hazard, Torres, Willian

Paris St Germain will field their strongest line up tonight with the hope that they will at least carry an advantage to Stamford Bridge. The Ibra-EL MATADOR partnership will hope to cause a lot of problems for the Blues rearguard. It is the midfield trio of Verratti-Matuidi-Motta that have the most work to do. Considered one of the best trios in World football, they can do their credentials a whole lot of good if they dominate the centre tonight. They also have the best defender in the World so no problems there.

Chelsea will be without both Matic and Salah who are cup tied. Samuel Eto'o is also injured and will be replaced  by Fernando Torres in the starting line up. The experience of Frank Lampard will be very vital and Terry-Cahill must be at their very best to keep Cavani-Ibra at bay throughout the game. It is left to be seen if the Chelsea players and management team are there to just take pictures with the Eiffel Tower or destroy their foes at the Parc de Princes.

Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990

BARCELONA-ATLETICO MADRID PREVIEW

During my Manchester United-Bayern Munich preview, I tired my very best not to mention David Moyes and I think I succeeded in that regard. It will be impossible to do a preview of this magnitude without mentioning two great Argentine slugging it out for the right to be called Champions of La Liga. The football scripts must be written by Heavenly bodies. If not, how best can you describe the almost perfect scripts that have played out in years gone by? It is more than a coincidence that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are meeting in the quarter-final of the Champions League.

If everything goes well, this season might be much better than the 'ANTIC 96' which the current manager, Diego Simeone was a big part of. 'EL CHOLO' has brought a new lease of life to the Madrid club since he came on board. The boss demands the very best from each player, irrespective of the position. He sold Falcao and built Diego Costa. Now the Brazilian cum Spaniard is one of the best strikers in the World and is posting incredible numbers in front of goal.


                                                       



Gerardo 'Tata' Martino has not yet defeated Diego Simeone in any competition since he was appointed to replace Tito Vilanova at the beginning of the season. Although the Catalans won the SuperCoppa Espanna at the expense of Simeone's men, it was only on away goals rule. No outright victory has been recorded by the 4-time European Champions. Tata will hope to register his first win over los Rojiblancos tonight at the intimidating Camp Nou. Victories over Real, Celta Vigo and Espanyol in the past weeks have lifted the mood. A resounding one tonight will remove the roof definitely.

Atletico Madrid have proved in no small measure that they are a hard nut to crack this term. The La Liga leaders rose to the occasion at the new San Mames on Saturday. That match showed their test of character and ability to thrive under difficult conditions as they came out victors and maintained their one point lead at the top of La liga. Diego Costa pulled out of yesterday's training and is a doubt for tonight's fixture. Simeone will be hoping he shrugs off whatever ails him and declares himself ready to shoot down down the Catalans.


PROBABLE LINEUPS

BARCELONA

Pinto, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta Neymar, Messi

ATLETICO MADRID

Courtois, Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Luis, Gabi, Koke, Mario Suarez, Garcia, Costa, Turan


Victor Valdes has been operated upon and will be out for seven months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in a crucial League game v Celta Vigo. The serial Zamora winner will miss the World Cup in Brazil and of course tonight's encounter. Barca have an able replacement in Pinto who has delivered everytime he has been called upon to deputise for the almost irreplaceable VV. The defence is as you were and the midfield is predictable every game. It is in attack that Alexis and Pedro are finding it difficult to play week in, week out because of the presence of Neymar who hasn't let himself down recently.He won the penalty that set Barcelona on the path of victory at the Bernabeu, scored two goals in the next match v Celta and had a hand in the penalty converted by Messi at Espanyol. Tata has a lot of faith in Cesc Fabregas and cannot bench Iniesta who has been on form for the past few weeks now. Alexis has scored 17 League goals but is not guaranteed a starting slot in the team. That goes to show the stiff competition.

Atletico Madrid possess some of the best players in the World in every position on the field of play. Their goaltender is certainly one of the best in the World and the Miranda led rearguard is as shored up as any other in World Football. Koke is a full Spanish international now and Arda Turan can force his way into almost every team in the World. Raul Garcia is the dependable ally of Costa in European games and he is set to be picked ahead of David Villa again. Diego Costa will lead the line and his industry will be very much required to take a good result back to the Calderon in three weeks. Captain Gabi is the enforcer, the fighter, the leader, the conductor and the orchestrator of the Colchoneros. He has paid his dues. He has a big job tonight v the revered Barcelona midfield. He always delivers.

The absence of Victor Valdes is a big blow to Barcelona, Spain and the football World in general. He will be sorely missed and I hope he recovers well from this regrettable layoff. He will come back stronger because he is a fighter, a winner and a champion. ANIMSVALDES!


Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990

MANCHESTER UNITED-BAYERN MUNICH PREVIEW

                                            

They may be having a woeful season but Manchester United welcome Bayern Munich tonight in a clash of European heavyweights. Bayern still hold a grudge against the red army. That inexplicable, unexpected comeback in injury time fifteen years ago is still fresh in the memories of those in Bavaria. The Camp Nou miracle was a big blow to Bayern Munich and although they have paid the red devils back a couple of times, nothing will stop them from ensuring that UNITED don't go through them to win another Champions League title.

Bayern Munich were the best team in the World last season and this term, they have gotten even better. Pep Guardiola came in and raised the bar. They have the Buli wrapped up after practically walking it since it began in August. The Bavarians are chasing another treble and yet another peice of history. Victory in this tie will take them closer to their aim of becoming the first club to win the Champions League back to back. On paper, they should start preparing for the semi-final.

Manchester United bounced back from the disappointment of derby disaster to record a less than convincing win v Aston Villa in the early afternoon Saturday kick-off at Old Trafford. Some delusional and plastic fans flew a stupid banner half mast during the game to voice their displeasure at the recent bad results, especially the 3-0 losses to two of our biggest enemies-Liverpool and Manchester City. The 4-1 result on Saturday flattered the defending champions. A much better performance is needed tonight if the red army are to avoid a monumental embarrassment.


PROBABLE LINEUPS-

MANCHESTER UNITED:

DDG, Jones, Vidic, Evans, Buttner, Carrick, Fellaini, Giggs, Kagawa,Valencia, Rooney

BAYERN MUNICH:

Neuer, Rafinha, Boateng, Martinez, Alaba, Schweini, Lahm, Kroos, Robben, Ribery, Mandzukic


As if United don't have enough to worry about, Rafael is a doubt for tonight's match after skipping training due to a thigh strain suffered in the Aston Villa game. That coupled with the fact that RVP is out and Patrice Evra is suspended. Alex Buttner is set to play at left back which means the unenviable task of keeping Arjen Robben quiet is his to accomplish. Whoever plays at right back has to face the third best player in the World-Franck Ribery. The midfield has to include the bionic Giggs who put in one of those unbelievable shifts in the Olympiakos must win game. The Veteran welsh wizard has amassed ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY appearances in the Champions League.That alone deserves a Champions League winners medal. United know they have to double up on Toni Kroos tonight, henceI think Moyes will go with the Carrick-Fellaini partnership. The front line will consist of Kagawa-Rooney and Valencia if he passes a late fitness test.

Bayern Munich will have to do without Messrs Dnate (suspended) and Thiago (injured). Both have been pivotal this season and will be missed but the squad is so big and filled with World Class players that no one will notice their absence tonight. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos are more than capable of running the show. The 'ROBBERY' duo are a phenomenal pair. On both wings, it is almost impossible to stop them. United are set to deploy makeshift fullbacks tonight to compound the miserable season. FC Hollywood can afford to rest the likes of Shaqiri, Muller, Gotze and still put out a team capable of tearing any side apart.

Tonight, Wayne Rooney has a very important role to play. Rewind back to four years ago. He couldn't stamp his authority in the quarter-final 2nd leg at Old Trafford because he was injured. He can pour all the venom on them tonight after such a long wait. The Englishman is fresh from scoring a double at the weekend and entering the top four of the EPL's highest goal scorers of all time. Without RVP, the mantle of leading the team to victory falls on him. Juan Mata can play no part because he is cup-tied but Shinji Kagawa can light up the mood around Old Trafford and help his cause if he produces one of those great performances he is known for. Bayern Munich are well aware of his abilities as he has put them to the sword in the past. However, those days seem to be over now as he is getting back to that sparkling form that won him so many admirers. If he rekindles the love he has for the game, Bayern will have more problems than they envisaged.

Bayern need no elaboration. The German red devils come into this match as clear favourites to go through despite the best efforts of Ryan Giggs to dispel such assertion.  It is crystal clear that they are the best team in the World and anything other than a victory tonight at the Theatre of dreams will be seen as a huge shock. Despite being held by a determined Hoffenheim at the weekend, they will go all out for a comfortable victory. The ROBBERY gang will be determined to go back home with something gargantuan after the one hour thirty minutes long operation.


Ohireime P EBoreime
@ohiskaka1990