PREVIEW CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

second leg

Manchester Utd - AS Roma 

first leg (1:2)

Manchester United FC have never before overcome a first-leg deficit in the UEFA Champions League but that statistic means nothing to their manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who believes they have a "massive chance" of advancing to the semi-finals despite the 2-1 advantage AS Roma bring with them on their first visit to Old Trafford. "I think it is a good position," said Sir Alex. "We acquitted ourselves very well in the circumstances in Rome. We're pleased that with ten men we scored a goal and when we did score, Roma became very nervous for a period. Tomorrow our attacking impetus will be much stronger." The Scot's bullishness came despite his team's first back-to-back losses of the campaign - Saturday's 2-1 league defeat at Portsmouth FC following the reverse in Rome - and a lengthy absentee list which now includes the suspended Paul Scholes and hamstring victim Louis Saha. Yet a defiant Sir Alex, citing a 14-match unbeaten run after their last Premiership loss, said: "I think the history of the club has always been that way. We do recover and we will recover well. Everyone loses at some point, it is what you do about it that makes a team, and I am confident about that." Although United have attempted failed fightbacks five times in the last eleven seasons in the competition, the manager sounded undaunted by the challenge of bettering Serie A's second-best side. "Can you compare Roma with the great Juventus teams that came here, or AC Milan of two years ago, or Real Madrid [CF]? They have all been here and it certainly won't be any more tense than those games." Sir Alex did concede, however, that Roma, impressive 2-0 winners at Olympique Lyonnais in the last round, carried a real counterattacking threat. "Their away form has been good and they have had a goal threat, so I don't anticipate they'll go completely defensive." Roma coach Luciano Spalletti echoed his counterpart's words, saying: "We showed in the first game that we are a very good team, sound in defence, and we have to do the same again tomorrow. It would be risky to try a different approach against such a good attacking side as United. We will play as we know how to play." Spalletti has midfielder David Pizarro back from a ban, yet has lost Simone Perrotta for the same reason. The coach's main concern, though, is the fitness of leading scorer Francesco Totti, who missed Saturday's 2-0 victory against Calcio Catania with a sciatica problem, although he did train seeminly unhindered on the eve of the game. Roma were last in the quarter-finals of Europe's élite competition in 1984 and Spalletti admitted, "United have an advantage over us in that they are used to playing at this level". More experienced they may be, but United do not always get it right as Sir Alex confessed. "I think we will make chances but from my experience of European games in the past, we have missed chances," he said, recalling semi-final upsets against BV Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Yet he added: "If we can create our chances, and take a percentage, I think we have a massive chance."

Probable teams

Manchester United: Edwin van der Sar; John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Gabriel Heinze; Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney, Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Roma: Doni; Marco Cassetti, Cristian Chivu, Philippe Mexes, Christian Panucci; Daniele De Rossi, David Pizarro; Christian Wilhelmsson, Taddei, Mancini; Francesco Totti.



FC Valencia - Chelsea FC
first leg (1:1)

Valencia CF coach Quique Sánchez Flores could have been forgiven for choosing the cloak-and-dagger approach when questioned about his tactics to face Chelsea FC in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Mestalla on Tuesday night. Given that he, and his opposite number José Mourinho, have consistently drummed out the message that the tie will be decided by tiny details - or a decisive error - the Spaniard might have opted to conceal his cards. Instead he laid out the entire technical blueprint which is designed to nullify the English champions and put Valencia in the competition's last four for the first time since they reached the final against FC Bayern München in 2001. "I have already asked my players to perform as if the first leg didn't happen and we don't have the advantage of a 1-1 draw," said the 42-year-old former Real Madrid CF, Valencia and Real Zaragoza midfielder. "I have demanded a night of very high intensity and I want us to push Chelsea back by playing very high up the pitch." Even when quizzed about Chelsea successfully employing "direct" football in the second half of last week's Stamford Bridge draw – as Didier Drogba equalised David Silva's spectacular opener – Sánchez Flores was happy to expand: "When your opponents have footballers of the quality of Drogba or Andriy Shevchenko, then it's obviously key to keep them as far from your penalty area as possible, for as long as possible. But given how Chelsea played for some of the last game, I've told my players that I want them to close down the opposition defenders and never allow them the easy option of a long ball. Linked to that, if Chelsea do hit the ball long to, say, Drogba then we need to be super alert and win the second ball when it is knocked down." He will also want his players more alert than in their 1-0 weekend loss at Athletic Club Bilbao, which caused them to drop to fifth place in the Primera División. Despite the suspensions of Carlos Marchena and David Navarro plus the devastating thigh injury sustained by Vicente Rodríguez in London, Sánchez Flores can count on experienced forward Fernando Morientes who completed a third pain-free training session on Monday following his dislocated shoulder. Equally, Mourinho has the pleasing news that midfielder Michael Essien is on the verge of returning. "I asked him if he was coming with us to Valencia for a holiday or to play," joked the Chelsea boss. "He said it was to play and that's good - if I like his training pre match then I want to use him." If Mourinho's chirpy demeanour can be taken at face value then he expects to dent Valencia's record of having entertained English opposition in UEFA competition eleven times at the Mestalla and never lost. "It's obvious that 0-0 means we are out so we are here to get a goal – and perhaps one goal is enough," said the Portuguese, whose side moved to within three points of Premiership leaders Manchester United FC following Saturday's 1-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur FC. "We have scored goals late in games many times this season but perhaps in Valencia, it will be the case that we are defending a lead late in the game. The Mestalla will be a pressure environment but fans don't score goals – I want our positive European season to continue and we can do it."

Probable teams

FC Valencia: Santiago Cañizares; Luis Miguel, Roberto Ayala, Emiliano Moretti, Asier del Horno; Miguel Ángel Angulo, Raúl Albiol, David Albelda, David Silva; Fernando Morientes, David Villa.

Chelsea FC : Petr Čech; Lassana Diarra, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole; Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard; Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko.