Barcelona v Manchester United Preview

Tomorrow is the first leg of the Champion's League Semi-Finals for Barcelona and Manchester United. United and Barca are the only teams in the competition who are still unbeaten.

The first leg is at the Nou Camp where United won the Champion's League against Bayern Munich in the famous treble year.



Barcelona

Injuries: Henry missed yesterday's training due to a high temperature. Ronaldinho, Lilian Thuram, Jose Edmilson and goalkeeper Albert Jorquera also missed training, while captain Carlos Puyol will miss out through suspension.
Form: DDWDW
Barcelona 0-0 Espanyol
Recreativo Huelva 2-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 1-0 Schalke 04
Barcelona 0-0 Getafe
Schalke 04 0-1 Barcelona
Eto'o: "I have the same respect for United that I hope they have for us," he said. "Sure, United are favourites, but that just motivates me even more."


Manchester United

Squad: Van der Sar, Neville, Evra, Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Brown, Ronaldo, Anderson, Rooney, Giggs, Park, Vidic, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Pique, O'Shea, Fletcher, Silvestre, Kuszczak, Tevez, Heaton, Welbeck.
Injuries: Van Der Sar, Anderson, Hargreaves and Rooney are back from injury. Neville and Silvestre have also been included in the squad.
Form: DWWDW
Blackburn 1-1 Manchester United
Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal
Manchester United 1-0 Roma
Middlesbrough 2-2 Manchester United
Roma 0-2 Manchester United
Ferdinand:
“We are confident, definitely,” he told ManUtd.com. “People talk about them being the best side in the tournament but I don’t know.
“We have already beaten Roma and Lyon, the best sides in Italy and France. Barcelona, if you look at the league table, aren’t the best team in Spain and weren’t last season either.
“We know we’re playing a top side. People talk about ‘acid tests’ but I think each game is an acid test. Barcelona have great prestige and history, but whether they’re the best team around at the moment, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I hope we defend as a team and are compact because if we are open, they have the players to punish us. So, fingers crossed, we’ll be a tight unit and will be able to hit them on the counter-attack like we did in Rome.
“I’m looking forward to the game and the occasion – the Nou Camp is a prestigious arena with great traditions. The players on show are all illustrious names and talented footballers, so to be able to come up against them is a fantastic opportunity.”

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