JOIN USChelsea face uphill task
United hold the whip hand following Wayne Rooney’s goal in their 1-0 quarterfinal first-leg win at Stamford Bridge and in most circumstances in the Champions League and for United, that would be that.
Alex Ferguson’s team have lost one of their last 30 matches in the competition at Old Trafford and none in the last six years. They have progressed in all 16 European ties where they won the first leg away from home. This season they have conceded only two goals in nine Champions League games while in the Premier League they have won 15 and drawn one of their home games.
Since the Champions league began only two sides have recovered from a first-leg home defeat to win a knockout tie -- Ajax Amsterdam against Panathinaikos in 1996 and Inter Milan, who recovered from a 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich with a 3-2 win in Germany last month.
Yet the particular nature of this all-English tie means that such statistics are undermined in a game between two teams who know each other so well.
Although Chelsea have won only one of five away games in all-English Champions League ties, they won at Old Trafford in the Premier League a year ago and know that they need only one goal on Tuesday to swing the advantage their way.
Only two of the teams’ last 12 competitive games have been decided by more than one goal so both sides know the Londoners are still very much in the tie.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s biggest headache is how to best use his trio of front men -- Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres, who took his goal drought to 10 matches after coming off the bench against Wigan.
The Italian started with Drogba and Torres in the first leg in a 4-4-2 formation that seemed to squeeze the space from his midfield and could well turn to Anelka this time and revert to 4-3-3.
Balancing act
Pep Guardiola faces a delicate balancing act away to Shakhtar Donetsk, making sure to guard against unpleasant surprises while a double-header against Real Madrid looms on the horizon.
Barca hold a comfortable 5-1 quarterfinal, first-leg advantage that has them on the brink of the last four of the Champions League, but their coach is desperate to avoid any sense of relaxation among his players.
The Ukrainians caused Barca plenty of problems in the opening minutes at the Nou Camp last week when the pace of their forwards clearly unsettled the hosts' defence.
Maintaining their winning momentum will be important because on their return they face a potential La Liga title decider away to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Guardiola described this clash as “a unique opportunity to strike a decisive blow,” after his side came back to beat lowly Almeria 3-1 at home on Saturday. They top the standings by eight points with seven games left to play.