Not surprisingly Monday’s furour about the Luzhniki Stadium pitch appears to have died away as we now hear that it is going to be just fine. From the equivalent of a neglected public park pitch to no problem in 48 hours – a miracle indeed.

Perhaps the field condition was more a product of a journalist or two who found themselves in Moscow on Monday with nothing to write about until the teams arrived later in the day.

Now comfortable in the knowledge that billions of dollars of talent will not disappear down a sink hole in Moscow I can now safely turn my attention to the game this afternoon.

The problem is that with less than five hours to kick off and I am no closer to deciding who I think is the going to be the 2008 Champions of Europe. I have had a sneaking su####ion about Chelsea since the draw for the last sixteen was made but on the other hand I treat Manchester United in a final as I do the Old Firm – never bet against them.

So in an attempt to come to a decision of Chelsea or Manchester United here are the advantages that each side brings with them to the battle.

Chelsea
1. Didier Drogba – even more so than Ronaldo, Drogba has an unerring ability to lay low for most of a match but to still step up and decide the outcome. His strength and pace makes it impossible to ignore him.

2. Michael Ballack – Player of the Year in England if it was based on the last eight weeks. His positional play has been excellent and when not arguing with Drogba over free kicks the timing of his runs into the penalty box are reminiscent of former United great Bryan Robson.

3. Frank Lampard – criticized for the apparent high number of deflected goals he should be praised for adhering to old adage that if you don’t shoot you don’t score. What’s more when Lampard gets within 30 yards of goal watch how many defenders try to shut him down – no wonder he gets goals from deflections as well as creating gaps for the other Chelsea players to take advantage of.

4. Aerial power – Ballack, Carvalho, Drogba, Terry are all excellent in the air and every set piece for Chelsea will present and real and present danger to United.

5. No other English team has enjoyed a better record against Manchester United than Chelsea and that holds true even before the arrival of Roman Abramovich’s interest free loan.

Manchester United
1. Ronaldo – if United can get him the ball early in the game and he can settle into a rhythm then he can be the match-winner. Cole has played well against him in the past so it will be interesting to see which wing Fergie starts him on.

2. Rio Ferdinand – simply the best defender in England over the last season.

3. Patrice Evra – With a license to get forward that Chelsea appears to be unwilling to give to their full backs the Frenchman can exploit the spaces that the normally narrow Chelsea formation provides.

4. Edwin van der Saar – the Dutchman’s kicking skills have been identified as a weakness by many but it is his ability to find players with quick long throws that might be more pivotal.

5. Mobility – The constant movement used by United means that an opposition defense cannot drop concentration for a moment.

Line Ups
Michael Essien at right back appears to be the way that Chelsea will go with Malouda or Kalou a tactical decision and Cole or Bridge a fitness decision.

The speculation on the United line up is whether or not Ferguson buttresses his midfield with Owen Hargreaves. Bringing Hargreaves in would in my opinion be a clear signal that Ferguson would be happy to accept a saw-off in midfield and rely on his wide players and Rooney to win it for him.

A more aggressive strategy - and gamble - would be to start Tevez and Rooney in attack with Tevez being asked to hassle and upset Makelele as he sits just in front of the Chelsea back four. The downside of starting Tevez is that it takes away an option to change the game by way of the substitutes bench.

Decision – still unknown!