Well the Champions League returns on Tuesday and with that, the knock-out stage commences. There are a lot of wonderful ties to watch and there are only a few that you could look at and feel confident about a winner. Here is what I think will occur in this round.

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FC Schalke 04 v FC Porto

On paper and in person, these two are extremely evenly matched. Neither side is incredibly strong, nor are they incredibly weak. Schalke have been inconsistent in the German league this season, but having reached this far is a great accomplishment for them. While they lost at home on Friday, the fact that they'll have four days to rest for this match will be good but it doesn't give them the edge as Porto will have also been rested since Friday. Porto are running away with the Portuguese league and they could start to shift their focus in the hopes of reaching further in this competition. The question here is which team is actually stronger? Yes, Porto do lead their league, but is it in the same quality as Germany? The answer is no. Does that make Schalke a the stronger of the two because they play in a tougher league? Probably not, so again you're left looking at this match as an even contest. I like Schalke in the first leg because they're at home and the crowd will be with them. I expect a close first-half contest, with neither side putting up too many chances, but Schalke will open up in the 2nd half and score a goal. If Porto go down a goal, you'll see them move into the attack and try to grab an away goal. If they decide to play too defensive, then their only chance of scoring will be on the odd-counter attack.

Prediction: Schalke 04 v FC Porto = 2:1

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Liverpool v Inter Milan

With no FA Cup, No Carling Cup and the Premiership out of the question, there is only one trophy the Reds can win this season and the only thing that will save Rafa Benitez from being fired. They face the Italian leaders Inter Milan who have been on-fire this season both in Serie A and in the Champions League. It would be clear that Inter are the favorites in this tie, but in recent years, they have fallen and disappointed their fans in the knock-out stages. With this first match being played at The Anfield, you really have to put the edge at least in this match to Liverpool. Chances are they will play a 4-4-2 but with a midfield that will probably shift more towards aiding the defense rather than setting up the strikers. This match has draw written all over it, but the question will be does it end 0:0 or 1:1. As long as Liverpool do not give up an early goal or do not go behind in the first half, I expect them to stay with a draw. If they do manage to score first, then they could get one more, but I do not expect them to take any risks against Inter and rely on getting an away goal in the return leg.

Prediction: Liverpool v Inter Milan = 1:1

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AS Roma v Real Madrid CF

I am not a fan of either side but this is a really interesting match-up. Real should retain their La Liga title while Roma are trying to fight-off Juventus, Fiorentina and AC Milan for 2nd place in Italy. Roma suffered a 1:0 away loss to Juventus on Saturday but will be glad to have this match at home on Tuesday. Real Madrid also lost on over the weekend on the road after taking an early lead. On paper Real are the better side top-to-bottom but you can expect them to play for the draw here. They have had success against Roma in the past and this might put pressure on the club from the Italian capital to play extremely defensive at home, rather than trying to take their chances.  I expect Real Madrid to go for at least one goal and will not worry too much about taking risks up front. Roma might see this and react by shifting to a 5 in the back and play for that boring 0:0 draw. I want a goal in this match, and I expect it will come from the club in white.

Prediction: AS Roma v Real Madrid = 1:2

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Olympiakos v Chelsea

This is the match where everyone is stating, 'so who is Chelsea facing next?'. Olympiakos are the surprise team of the 16 left in the competition and they face an extremely tough side with Chelsea. Chelsea want to play in Moscow in May more than any club in this competition. They've reached the semis 3 times in the last 4 seasons missing out on the big match. Since the premiership title might be out of reach, they can focus their players on this match and I believe they will go at Olympiakos at full force. The problem with the Greek side is that they lack the experience in the later stages of this competiiton and their players are pretty old in comparison to the youth that fills the Chelsea squad. I expect Olympiakos to fight hard, but their lack of skill will only net them at best a scoreless draw.

Prediction: Olympiakos v Chelsea = 0:2

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Celtic v Barcelona

Yes, Barcelona have no performed as well as they should have this season. They have some of the best goal-scorers in the world with Messi, Henry, Ronaldinho and  Eto'o not to mention the young spark-plug that is Spanish-Serb Bojan Krkic; but due to some inconsistencies they have no played to their full potential. Celtic will probably look at this match and feel that they can cause some problems for the Barcelona side. I expect that Celtic will take their chances at home and try their hardest to score at least one goal because of their poor form outside of Scotland. Barcelona will hope that Celtic, with their risk-taking go too far and gift them a goal. I expect goals in this match from both sides and it will be the return leg that really decides the winner.

Prediction: Celtic v Barcelona = 2:2

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Lyon v Manchester United

At the beginning of this season, Lyon looked shaky at best. They didn't have their first choice keeper (Coupet) between the sticks and they were having a hard time against opposition that should be  easy 3 points. It also looked pretty bad for them when they lost their first two group stage matches, but they turned around won the matches they need to and now must feel extremely confident hosting Manchester United. Manchester had a mixed first part of their League season, but were incredible in the Champions League, although in a relatively weak group that they locked up pretty early. They will try to build on the 4:0 win over Arsenal on the weekend but this will be a very different opponent. I expect a tight contest, but I wouldn't be surprised if Manchester leave with a victory. Over the past few years, I have been a huge supporter of seeing Lyon going far in Europe but they always disapointed. I expect this year they will continue to disappoint. They'll put up a fight, but it will be a 2nd half mistake that will put them behind the 8-ball going to Manchester.

Prediction : Lyon v Manchester Utd. = 1:2

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Fenerbahce v Sevilla

Chances are if you're asked about Turkish club football, you'll respond by mentioning Galatasaray. While that's nice, they are actually not the most successful club from the country, but that Fenerbahce is. This will be the Turkish club's best chance at impressing people in Europe. They have a very diverse squad of younger Turkish players and experienced International talent. Sevilla will be favored in the grand scheme of this series, but their first match in Istanbul will be tough and something they have not experienced in either their previous UEFA Cup success or this season in the group stage. I really like Fenerbahce in the first leg; it won't be a comfortable win, but they'll squeeze out the result they need and head to Spain feeling as though they can advance to the Quarter-finals. Sevilla should not play too defensive but I am certain they will not take their chances.

Prediction: Fenerbahce v Sevilla = 1:0

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Arsenal v AC Milan

Milan looked like they were dead in the water as they couldn't win a league match at home, they were closer to relegation than to the title and nothing was going right. Then entered some young players and the entire team got a massive boost. The fountain of youth has been pretty good as of late and AC Milan are knocking on the door of finishing in the top 4 in Italy. Arsenal on the other hand have had success all season long and outside of missing out Cup trophies in England are on pace to win the Premiership for the first time since their undefeated season a few years back. The squad has developed a lot over the years but are still not that successful in knock-out competitions. They have also had some injury problems as of late and that could cause problems for them in what will be a tough contest. When you have two great clubs like this, you'd want them to have a high-scoring contest, but this has draw written all over it.

Prediction: Arsenal v AC Milan = 0:0

My predictions for the first legs of matches doesn't leave much to the imagination. The first leg is usually played with a lot of caution and clubs at home are not willing to take risks while the away squad do not play to take advantage of their defensive opposition. I think for the neutral, the match to watch will be Celtic v Barcelona while the Fenerbahce v Sevilla will definitely interest the true soccer fan. If there are any surprises, they will be in the Lyon v Manchester and any positive result for Olympiakos (meaning not losing) will also surprise a lot.

Enjoy the matches!

It started in early August with the qualifications and now it ends in May with the final in Athens. Outside of fans from the two clubs, most people are not too interested with this match. You have people who still feel that AC Milan should have never been given the rights to compete in this competition considering the debacle that has occurred in Italy; on the other side you have a Liverpool club that did not compete in their league and has played only for this tournament.

I have mentioned in the past that I was at the first match between these two in Istanbul and while that match was incredible, this match probably won't be that great since both clubs will be going into this match with a lot of caution.

I worry that AC Milan with their questionable front could have a hard time against a Liverpool side that are extremely fresh. Yes, Milan have avoided playing their top players recently, their recent loses isn't a good morale boost. While Kaka is absolutely incredible, he can't do it all on his own and will need a lot of support from his teammates. What worries me for Milan continues with what they plan on doing in terms of their formation. Milan are not known recently to play the traditional 4-4-2 variations so you can probably expect something along the lines of a 4-5-1 with Inzaghi playing the lone striker with Kaka playing right behind him and either a 2-2-1 midfield or a 1-3-1...these are odds formations 4-2-2-1-1 and 4-1-3-1-1 are not commonly used by most clubs, but Milan could do that. I think the key for Milan to win will be to have support outside of Kaka; this will result in Pirlo and Gattuso to take control of the ball to allow Kaka and Inzaghi (or whoever is playing upfront) to get into space.

The problem there is that you know for certain that Liverpool will deploy a 4-4-2 formation and will cover all the angles on the pitch. Unlike in 2005 where you have Sheva and Crespo upfront causing problems they won't be able to do it with a sole striker and relying solely on Kaka could blow up in Milan's face.

While I have put a lot of pressure on Milan, it won't be easy for Liverpool either. They will have to rely heavily on all their players to control the ball and to keep it away from the Milan midfielders. If Liverpool control the ball, then they stand a good chance of winning. You can expect the striker duo to be Crouch and Kuyt with Gerrard and Mascherano support in the Midfield with Xabi Alonso probably also taking part. You have to also like Reina in goal for Liverpool, so even if Kaka and his teammates take their chances, Reina should be able to stop them.

In the end, this will be a close game, and will be decided by one goal. If Liverpool control possession, they will score and hold on to the lead. If Liverpool fail to hold Kaka away from the ball, then he will help set-up that goal that will give AC Milan the victory. I've stated in the past that I feel the final score will be 1:0 for Liverpool and I still think that. I'm not going out on a limb for a clear win and while Milan fans will be hoping for a slaughter to fix the demons of 2005, they won't do it, but will still fight until the death and even in a loss will have played well enough.

 

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On a side note: I was shopping on the weekend and noticed that Adidas has released throw-back jerseys of both AC Milan and Liverpool from the late 80s, early 90s. I found that really interesting that Adidas is marketing this match the way there are. While I am not a Liverpool supporter, if you are one, you should probably try to pick up their jersey with the 'Candy' sponsorship because it's a really nice classic jersey that a Liverpool fan should own.

 

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The FA Cup final on Saturday wasn't that interesting but I must say that the finish to La Liga will be incredible. It will be disappointing if the season ends with two team on level points and their head-to-head determining the winner. I've always hated that and wish that tie-breakers did not determine a winner of a league. I wish all leagues would go back to have a one-off neutral finish to determine winner (which I still believe Italy does). It happened earlier this season when PSV won the Dutch League on a goal-difference over Ajax as they both finished with Level points. Just imagine the kind of match the Madrid v Barca Winner-Playoff would be? The match played in Valencia to a sold out crowd with the winner getting the title. It would be a fan's dream match.

I may be a Barca supporter, I still think that because of the head-to-head, Real Madrid will take the trophy at the end of the season. The biggest surprise will be if both Barca and Real slip only to have Sevilla leap-frog both clubs to steal the trophy. That would be absolutely incredible and great for the game, especially to those that feel that European soccer can be too predictable with the richer clubs always winning out. It hurts me that Schalke blew it yet again to finish 2nd in Germany, it is nice that at least Bayern Munich didn't win it this time. Have fun in the UEFA Cup Bayern!