Champions League Quarter-finals Second Leg

By: Bob | April 9th, 2007

There is no rest for the weary and that is a very good thing for fans of the Champions League. Europe’s super tournament resumes this week with the second leg of the quarter-finals. Three out of the four tilts are tighter than tight so there will be drama aplenty for everyone involved.

As luck would have it, I actually have to leave the bat cave on Tuesday to go pretend to be a real journalist while the Champions League games are being played. There will not be a liveblog, but before you head for your nearest bridge to jump off I will leave an open thread for those who wish to discuss, banter and otherwise pass the time while the games are being played. The liveblog will return on Wednesday when I type frantically and try not to allow Oliver Kahn to scare me too much while his Bayern Munich side takes on AC Milan.

Here’s the lineup for the midweek fun:

Manchester United v Roma
There was high drama last week in Italy with Roma winning 2-1 against a Manchester United side that played most of the match with 10 men. Paul Scholes is gone for the second leg. Man U is coming off a poor performance against Portsmouth this weekend, but they do have an away goal in this tilt and that could prove to be huge.

Valencia v Chelsea
This is going to be another beauty. Valencia traveled to England last week and came away with a 1-1 draw. Now it is Chelsea’s turn to hit the road, knowing that they are an away goal down. Valencia are undefeated at home in the Champions League this year and have conceded just one goal at their stadium.

Bayern Munich v AC Milan
It would seem that momentum is on Bayern Munich’s side. They picked up a pair of away goals in Milan and now return home to Munich where they have not lost in 11 matches. AC Milan have only scored one goal in four matches on the road in the Champions League but one goal is all it will take if they also hold Bayern scoreless. This should be a fun one to watch and to liveblog.

Liverpool v PSV Eindhoven
It will take a miracle for PSV to come back from a 3-0 deficit and a miracle is not going to happen when they play at Anfield. This will be an excellent occasion for Liverpool to rest their players.

For what it is worth, I think I will stick by my original predictions and go with Liverpool, AC Milan, Manchester United, and Valencia. Care to venture a guess yourself?