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Team News:
Roberto Carlos is back in Fenerbahce's squad after a shin injury but is likely to start Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg on the bench.

Fellow defender Onder Turaci will probably play at right-back in place of the suspended Gokhan Gonul.

Chelsea's Frank Lampard returns to the squad after overcoming a stomach upset.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech is still out with an ankle injury but Didier Drogba has shaken off a knock that he picked up in Sunday's 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

If Roberto Carlos is left on the bench, Fenerbahce will instead look to midfielder Ugur Boral to make his trademark surging runs down the flank.

Coach Zico will be looking to build an advantage at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium to take to Stamford Bridge for the second leg.

The Turkish champions are unbeaten in their last 11 European games at home, with Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Sevilla among those to have come unstuck in Istanbul this season.

Fernerbahce sit top of the Turkish Super Lig by two points after beating city rivals Besiktas on Saturday and remain favourites to defend their title with 19 wins from 28 games.

They have won their last four league matches and stunned Sevilla in the last 16 of the Champions League, winning 3-2 in Spain before eventually progressing on penalties.

Chelsea have the best defensive record in the Champions League this season, with only two goals conceded in eight matches and none in the last six.

Since losing to Barnsley on 8 March, Avram Grant's side have won four of their last five Premier League games, only dropping points in a draw with Tottenham.

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Roma skipper Francesco Totti has been ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg after suffering a thigh injury on Saturday. Totti, Roma's top scorer with 14 goals, is set to be replaced by Mirko Vucinic. Totti suffered his injury in Saturday's 1-1 Serie A draw at Cagliari but hopes to return for the second leg at Old Trafford. In his absence, Roma will look to Vucinic, who has scored four goals in the Champions League this season and was rested for the match against Cagliari.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar looks set to return after a groin injury but Michael Carrick is a doubt with a slight hamstring strain.

Mikael Silvestre has overcome a knee ligament injury, but Nani and Louis Saha are both ruled out by injury. French defender Silvestre has not played since suffering the injury against Everton in September.

His return boosts Sir Alex Ferguson's squad after Carrick, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs complained of knocks after Saturday's emphatic 4-0 win over Aston Villa.

Central defender Juan has a foot problem so Christian Panucci looks set to cover with Marco Cassetti, Max Tonetto and Cicinho battling for his right-back slot.

The two sides met twice last season at the same stage of the competition, with Roma winning 2-1 in Italy before suffering a humiliating 7-1 thrashing in Manchester.

They have already played twice in this season's group stage, United winning 1-0 at home before the teams drew 1-1 in Rome. The matches have been marred by violence between supporters and both clubs have been working on ways to avoid further problems. Italian authorities are providing free transport to the stadium for United fans in a bid to keep them away from any possible trouble. They have also introduced a voucher system for ticket collection in a bid to stop touts.

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Arsenal will meet Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after they were paired together in Friday's draw. Arsene Wenger's side will play the first leg at home on 2 April, with the return leg at Anfield on 8 April. The drawback is Liverpool is also playing Arsenal in the league in between the quarter-final legs so it will be interesting.

Manchester United, who beat Lyon to reach the last eight, were drawn against Real Madrid's conquerors Roma. Chelsea, the fourth English club in the draw, face Fenerbahce, with Schalke 04 versus Barcelona the other fixture.

The winners of the Arsenal-Liverpool showdown, the first time those two clubs will have met in European competition, will then take on Chelsea or Fenerbahce in the semi-finals, while Manchester United or Roma face Barcelona or Schalke 04.

The dates of the last four ties take place on April 22nd and 23rd with the return legs on April 29th and 30th. The four English sides make up the top five bookies odds on winning the Champions League. It is the first time four teams from the same country have made the quarterfinals in the competition.

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While Inter Milan have been celebrating their 100th year in the build up to Tuesday's crucial Champions League last 16, second leg clash against Liverpool at the San Siro, the visitors from Merseyside will have their own little 100 to celebrate.

Jamie Carragher will become the first Liverpool player to make 100 appearances in European football, should he take his usual place at the heart of the defence to help the English side defend a 2-0 lead from the first leg three weeks ago at Anfield.

While on paper, Inter look the better side -- riding high at the top of the Italian league while Liverpool face a fight with city rivals Everton just to finish fourth in England's Premier League and qualify for next season's premier European competition -- Carragher believes European football is tailor made for his team.

Carragher isn't just excited about his 100th appearance, it will also be the first time he runs out at the San Siro.

Already three English sides, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, have made it through to the quarter finals and Carragher doesn't want his team to let the country down.

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It’s the most, wonderful time, of the year! No, not because it’s the holiday season, it’s the first knockout Round of the Champions League! The draw was earlier today; very early on the west coast and here are the matchups.

Champions League Draw

This is my favorite Round of the Champions League because it is the most bargain for you dollar, with eight games per leg, and the best football teams in the world, playing for the "trophy with the big ears”. With all of these tasty fixtures, it’s hard to pick which matches will produce the great football and drama that each possesses.

Arsenal playing Milan could produce the most eye-catching football of the ties, with a little added flavor of Gattuso, Fabregas and Flamini and Kaka in a midfield clash. The Inter Milan and Liverpool tie is very intriguing because I believe Inter Milan are the best team in Europe at the moment, while Liverpool is the best team in Europe over two legs. Roma against Madrid should be a tie of beautiful football, combined with some awesome individual skill, with the likes of Totti, Mancinni, Robinho, and Reyes on the pitch. Last, but not least, the tie between Barcelona and Celtic, for no other reason than the atmosphere of the stadiums and the clash of styles on the pitch. Almost the complete opposites of the spectrum in how they both play football, and whoever manages to play their way, has the better chance in winning.

Who will be your eight teams through to the next round?

My picks to go through are, Schalke, Man Utd., Chelsea, Sevilla, Roma, Arsenal, Inter, and Barca.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Rangers on Wednesday crashed out of Europe in a loss to Lyon. The crowd inside Ibrox was stunned by the end of the match, in which Lyon scored their final two goals in the remaining ten minutes of the match.

Rangers Dejected After 0-3 Loss to Lyon

On a night when Rangers were second best on the pitch, they should have snatched a draw at the death. Barry Ferguson, the only Rangers player to have a decent match made an amazing run down the middle of the pitch, to set up substitute, Jean-Claude Darcheville, who bundled it over the bar. Although they didn’t deserve a draw, because Rangers couldn’t even deliver a set piece by the first defender, a draw would have seen Rangers into the Round of 16. Whilst I am a Celtic supporter, I was pulling for Rangers, because a draw would have seen six British clubs in last sixteen, a feat never accomplished.

Many football purest still believe that British football is crap, and that the Spanish and Italian Leagues are still better. Yet, the past year, three of the four in the final before last years, an English team, Arsenal and Liverpool, were in the final. I don’t know if that is enough proof that the English Premier League is the best league in the world, nor am I stating that the Scottish League is better than the Bundesliga or French League. What, I am ultimately saying is, both Celtic, Rangers, and the participants from the Premier League, deserve more credit for playing good football, and attractive football.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Rafael Benitez say’s he isn’t nervous or concerned about his job security, but with Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures, he could be managing a side effectively out of three competitions.

It's a Critical Week for Rafa

After a disappointing 3-1 loss to Reading on the weekend, Liverpool have little time to regroup. Tuesday, Liverpool travel to an improving Marseille side, and need to gain three points to guarantee their spot in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. While tied on points with Marseille, and Porto at the top of the group, a loss or draw would eliminate Liverpool from the Champions league competition. After the Champions League Test, they have their bitter rivals Manchester United. A losing effort at Anfield to their Northwest rivals would effectively take them out of the race for their first Premier League title. Next, comes a trip to Stamford Bridge, and a quarterfinal draw to Chelsea in the Carling Cup. Thus, this is a critical week for the lads from Merseyside, and especially their manager, who will be under great scrutiny from his American owners.

By: Christopher Chantland

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With a PK from Landon Donovan and the game winner from Edson Buddle, the Galaxy pulled out a 2-1 victory against Toronto FC and extended their winning streak to five in a row (and six games unbeaten). Since Chicago tied D.C., the Galaxy is only four points behind both Kansas City and the Chicago Fire.

Toronto FC went down to 10 men when Marco Reda was sent off for pulling down Gavin Glinton in the box. LD did what LD does best and scored off a penalty kick in the 56th minute. Then the Galaxy did what the Galaxy does best and gave away their lead just minutes later as Toronto’s Collin Samuel scoring the equalizer.

Ten minutes later the 2007 Galaxy MVP Chris Klein passed the ball to Edson Buddle, who scored the winner against his former team. The Galaxy now has a few different situations that can get them into the playoffs. Besides getting all six points remaining, the Galaxy still make it with only four points as long as they can tie New York on Thursday as long as they beat Chicago on Sunday.

Other MLS Notes:
D.C. United clinched the Supporter’s Shield with Chivas USA’s loss to the Rapids. Although the Crew won this weekend against New England, they were eliminated from the playoffs due to Chicago’s tie with D.C. on Saturday. Neither Kansas City nor the Fire clinched this weekend, leaving two playoffs spots open for the last weekend of play.

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UEFA will charge AC Milan goalkeeper Dida with improper conduct for his behavior during the Champions League loss against Celtic.

Here’s the video clip of Dida’s acting performance for those of you who missed it:

It’s still unclear what the punishment will be. What do you think should happen to Dida? Should he face suspension? Or will a fine be punishment enough?

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DaMarcus Beasley is now in the history books as the first American to score for different teams in Champions League, scoring for PSV two seasons ago and for Rangers yesterday.

As if a goal wasn't enough, Beasley also notched an assist as Lee McCulloch headed in Beasley's corner.

Other winners in Champions League Games:
Barcelona out played Stuttgart for a 2-0 victory. Manchester United won 1-0 against AS Roma. Sporting Libson score twice against Dynamo Kiev's one goal. Milan won 2-0 against PSV. Arsenal scored once at Steaua Bucharest, and Sevilla won 4-2 versus Slavia Prague.

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