Arsene Wenger’s side have suffered a blow however with the news that captain and midfield Cesc Fabregas will be missing from the clash. Fit again Sol Campbell is likely to partner Thomas Vermaelen in defence.

The Portuguese giants have had a poor season but hold the upper hand in the tie. However Arsenal’s away goal means that the Gunners only need a 1-0 victory to go through to the next round. Arsenal are favourites to progress into the last eight of the competition.

In the other tie of the night Bayern Munich travel to Fiorentina with a slender 2-1 lead. The Italians were unlucky to lose the first game after Bayern scored a late controversial winner. The German giants have been in superb form in the Bundesliga and will head into this clash top of the table. The Viola on the other hand are struggling to find form in Serie A and will face a difficult task to turn the tie around.

]]> http://football-scores.net/champion-league/champions-league-preview-2/feed http://football-scores.net/fa-cup/fa-quarter-final-review http://football-scores.net/fa-cup/fa-quarter-final-review#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:54:24 +0000 football writer http://football-scores.net/?p=284 Crisis-club Portsmouth made it through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Birmingham at Fratton Park. The game was a gritty affair but Pompey got the better of it. Portsmouth took the lead in the 67th minute through a tap-in from striker Frederic Piquionne. The on-loan front man was at it again three minutes later taking on the City defence superbly before firing past Joe Hart.

In the evening kick-0ff Fulham and Tottenham drew 0-0 at Craven Cottage. The game failed to live up to billing of tie of the round. Fulham had the best chance of the game with Zoltan Gera heading straight at Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes. The two teams will face a replay to be played at White Hart Lane.

On Sunday Aston Villa came back from two goals down to beat Reading 4-2 at the Madejski Stadium. Irish striker Shane Long struck twice in the first half to put the home side 2-0 up at half-time. However Villa got a goal back through Ashley Young just two minutes into the second half.

And just four minutes later John Carew had headed the visitors back on level terms. Six minutes later Carew scored his second goal of the match. The Norwegian completed his hat-trick in injury-time from the penalty spot to send Villa to Wembley.

FA Cup holders Chelsea progressed into the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Stoke at Stamford Bridge. The home side took the lead through a Frank Lampard effort in the 35th minute. Captain John Terry headed Chelsea’s second goal in the 67th minute.

Fulham and Tottenham meet in the second quarter-final on Saturday. Both sides are in good form and this could be the tie of the round. Tottenham are currently chasing a Champions League place and have hit form at the right time. Fulham have had a good season so far and will be hoping that they can go all the way for the first time in their history.

Reading face Premier League Aston Villa at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday. Reading have become the giantkillers of this season competition, having knocked out both Liverpool and Burnley. Brian McDermott’s side will be hoping to do the same to Villa. However it will be a difficult task with Villa’s side full of quality.

In the last of the FA Cup tie’s Chelsea face Stoke City at Stamford Bridge. The home side will go into this clash as favourites but the visitors have already proved that they are no pushovers by beating Arsenal and Manchester City in the last two rounds.

One of Capello’s main problem positions is left-back. With Ashley Cole currently out injured it gives Everton’s Leighton Baines and Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock the opportunity to impress. Baines looks set to win his first cap and if Warnock appears it will be his second cap.

Steven Gerrard will captain the England side with captain Rio Ferdinand sidelined with an injury. England could also give international debuts to Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross and Birmingham keeper Joe Hart.

England’s opposition Egypt claimed their record third consecutive African Cup of Nations victory in January. Their strike force is spearheaded by Mohamed Zidan, who is rated as one of the best players of his generation.

He currently plies his trade in Germany’s Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. West Ham striker and Zidan’s countrymen Mido has even suggested the 28 year-old would be ideal for English football. He is talented but can also frustrate his own fans. He is likely to be Egypt’s biggest threat to the home defence.

England midfielder James Milner stepped up from the spot and calmly put the ball beyond Tomasz Kuszczak. United were back on level terms after twelves minute. Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov broke away from Villa defender Richard Dunne, the Irish defender recovered and tackled the striker, only to see the ball run to ex-England striker Michael Owen who swept the ball into the corner of the net.

The unlucky Owen pulled up with an injury later in the first half and England striker Wayne Rooney stepped off the bench to replace the striker, before Park Ji-Sung struck the post with a good effort. The aforementioned Rooney put United back into the lead with a superb header from a superb Antonio Valencia cross in the 74th minute.

A few minutes later Rooney was unlucky not to get a second headed goal as the striker’s effort struck the post. Emile Heskey went close to equalising for Villa late-on as his header deflected onto the bar, as Villa pushed for an equaliser however they couldn’t find a way past the United defence and the Red Devils retained the trophy for the first time.

Aston Villa and Manchester United go head to head at Wembley in the Carling Cup final. United are current holders and are hoping to retain the trophy for the first time in their history. However Villa are looking for their first trophy under manager Martin O’Neill.

The former Celtic boss has won the League Cup twice before and will be hoping for another success at Wembley on Sunday. Villa last won the competition back in 1996 and it remains their most recent trophy.

The omens don’t look good for O’Neill’s side however as they have won only two out of the last 37 encounters with the Red Devils, although one of those victories came earlier this season at Old Trafford.

Villa are hoping that Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov will be fit after he missed Wednesday’s FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel, defender James Collins and striker Emile Heskey are likely to come back into the starting line-up after being rested in midweek.

Manchester United will be without defender Rio Ferdinand and midfielder Anderson, who will miss the rest of the season. United will also be without Ryan Giggs and winger Nani who is suspended. United’s star striker Wayne Rooney will be looking to add to his 27 goals in all competitions this season.

Bordeaux secured a vital 1-0 victory over Olympiakos in Greece. The home side missed a superb early opportunity through defender Olaf Mellberg. The crucial goal came just before half-time through a headed effort from defender Michael Ciani. Bordeaux will now be the favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.

CSKA Moscow and Sevilla drew 1-1 at the Luzhniki Stadium. The visitors took the lead through striker Alvaro Negredo in the 25th minute. However the Russian side claimed an equaliser in the 66th minute through a fantastic 35 yard effort from Chilean midfielder Mark Gonzalez.

Inter Milan got the better of Chelsea with a 2-1 victory over the Italian champions at the San Siro. Inter made a dream start with Diego Milito firing the home side into the lead just three minutes into the game. Chelsea had a blatant penalty appealed turned down just before half-time.

However Chelsea did equalise early in the second half. Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou beating Julio Cesar in the Inter goal from the edge of the box. Inter regained the lead soon after, through an unstoppable Esteban Cambiasso shot from the edge of the area. The tie is now finely balanced ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides qualified for the knockout stages unexpectedly and will now fancy their chances of progressing into the next round. It’s their first ever meeting in Europe with the home side the favourites to progress after eight games unbeaten on home turf.

European champions Barcelona visit Stuttgart’s Mercedes Benz Arena also on Tuesday night. The Bundesliga side have had an inconsistent domestic campaign this season and are currently sitting midtable in the German Bundesliga.

They are currently way off the pace in the race for Champions League places. This looks like it could be their last home European tie for awhile. However their recent form has improved and won their last game 5-1 against Cologne at the weekend.

Barcelona are unbeaten in European away games since 2008 and look like a good bet for the trophy. Although their form this season hasn’t been as good as last they are still top of La Liga and haven’t yet hit top form this season.

They are still seen as a dominant force in European football and will be expecting to beat the Bundesliga side. However with their form returning in recent weeks Stuttgart won’t be pushovers.

Everton wasn’t intimidated by the champions and in the 75th minute Dan Gosling scored from close range after a good cross from Steven Pienaar. And in the dying minutes Everton clinched all three points thanks to a superb solo effort from youngster Jack Rodwell.

Chelsea took advantage of the Champions slip up with a less than convincing 2-0 victory over Wolves at Molineux. Chelsea took the lead just before half-time through striker Didier Drogba. And it was the Ivory Coast international who scored the Blues second, rounding Wolves keeper Marcus Hahnemann and finding the net after a long ball from Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

Arsenal made up ground on Manchester United at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium. Nicklas Bendtner gave the visitors the lead after a good cross from Emmanuel Eboue. Arsenal didn’t score their second until the dying minutes of the match. Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was brought down in the area by Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell and the Spanish midfielder stepped up and buried the penalty.

However the visitor’s equalised through a header from striker Amauri. The Brazilian-born striker scored a second header to give the club the lead. The visitors were also reduced to ten men in injury-time as substitute Hasan Salihamidzic received his marching orders.

Liverpool were expected to heavily defeat Romanian side Unirea Urziceni but struggled to a 1-0 victory at Anfield. The Romanians defended well for 81 minutes but a David N’Gog strike ensured the Reds have a lead to take to Romania for the second leg.

Fulham caused a shock by beating Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Craven Cottage. The home side had the ideal start with Zoltan Gera scoring after just three minutes. Donetsk took control of the game and Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano scored the equaliser.

Donetsk started to dominant the game and Fulham would of been glad to see the half-time whistle. However Donetsk started to tire in the second half and the home side took the lead through a superb strike from striker Bobby Zamora.