Big Preview for a Big Wednesday

By: Rob | March 4th, 2008

So four more teams have bitten the dust. And three more will join them. Arsenal, Fener, Man United and Barca made it through (Adam will bring you a review in the near future) and Milan, Sevilla, Lyon and Celtic, we hope to see you all next year. Except we might not see Milan if thier current league form is anything to go by. Anyway! Onto another huge night of Champions League. Are you excited? I know I am.

Frank Lampard says shhh

Chelsea Vs Olympiacos

Billed as: Chelsea getting one of the easier games in the draw

The first leg was: Dull. It gets a bit like that with Chelsea sometimes. Olympiacos for thier part just stuck ten men behind the ball.

Since the first leg they’ve - Chelsea lost the Carling cup but responded well at the weekend by battering West Ham. Despite Lampards ridiculous, now resinded red card.

Key Players

olympiacos old goalie man Drogba points to himself to show who he loves

Chelsea – Drogba. Chelsea still need to score in this game, and with Olympiacos likely to just try and get a draw for as long as possible then nick one or maybe pens, Chelsea will hope for a big performance from Drogba.

Olympiacos – Nikopodolis. If they are going to beat chelsea a clean sheet is absolutely pivotal. So he’s gonna have to have one of those game you just know he can have.

In and Out – Chelsea don’t have alot to worry about. Olympiacos have LuaLua Raul Bravo Galletti and Domi all out injured. They do have Konstantinou back though.

Expect a bit of a cagey start, but for Chelsea to score and nerves be settled

Real Madrid Vs AS Roma

Billed as a chance for those aged legends (Totti and Raul) to show us exactly why they are still world class

In the first leg - a great game. Mancini, Robben, DeRossi (with a cold), Raul and Totti all looked great. a 2-1 win to Roma means its could all kick off here. The thing Roma have to not do though, is just try and defend that lead.

Since the first leg - Roma took a massive amount of confidence from the Real game, they upped it to the max in a vital Serie A game against leaders Inter, and would have won but for a stupid sending off. Real meanwhile had a referring complaint of thier own as they went down to Getafe.

Key Players

Mexes for France Van Nisto Holland

Roma – Mexes. There was a few players I could have picked here – Roma are gonna need performances from a few players, Totti bringing his pre-injury form back up may make the difference, and DDR is gonna need a big performance if Roma are going to win this game. However, Real at home are going to attack and attack, but if Mexes brings his a-game, then he is more than capable of dealing with it. This is the stage to prove he really is one of the best centre backs around.

Real – VanNistlerooy. Real need to score at least once inside the Bernabau, and there is no one more prolific. Roma will need to keep him quiet, if he plays.

In and Out Meltzelder and Robben are injured, with Ramos injured for Real, Snijder and Van Nistlerooy are doubts, the latter supposedly going to make it, but more likely from the bench.

Expect Fireworks. Its all gonna kick off in (probably) the tie of the round. I’m pretty excited about this one.

Porto Vs Shalke

Billed as The Other Other game.

First leg was surprise victory for the German side. 1-0 is a slender lead, but could make things very interesting here.

Since the first leg – Porto are running away with the Portuguse league. All sorts of strange goings on led to Bayern beating Schalke 1-0. This is thier third loss in a row in the German league.

Key Players

Quaresema111 The German Gattuso