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MUMBAI:
Defending champions Manchester United will hope to thrive on home
advantage after missing several chances in the first leg of their
Champions League knock out round against Inter Milan, while Italian
giants Juventus will look to nullify the Didier Drogba strike when
they host Chelsea.
And
all the live action from these crucial matches in the race to become
the No1 football club in Europe will be available exclusively on
Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent.
The
two live matches scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, and Thursday,
March 12, are Juventus hosting Chelsea and Manchester United at
home against Inter Milan. Both matches start just after midnight,
at 12:30 am IST. The Juventus-Chelsea match will be followed by
slightly delayed telecast of Liverpool-Real Madrid, while the United-Milan
match will be followed by the Arsenal-Roma tie. The delayed live
matches will start at 3:15 am IST.
Drogba
gave The Blues advantage in their home leg with an early goal, but
Juventus have a great home record and Claudio Ranieri’s men
will want nothing but a win in front of their passionate home fans.
Ranieri,
who was the coach at Chelsea during four crucial years at the turn
of the century, said his team was in a positive frame of mind and
looking forward to the match.
“It’s
an exciting encounter, a duel between a team that has started to
get big, Chelsea, and a team that is on its way back to the top
again, Juventus,” Ranieri said. “Juventus are one of the
most glorious teams in Europe.”
Liverpool
may be having a tough time in their domestic league, but come Champions
League, Rafa Benitez’s men wear a completely different look.
Liverpool have already scored an important away goal in the first
leg, and will look to seal the issue at home.
United,
who moved seven points clear of the chasing pack in the English
Premier League last week, will rue a host of missed opportunity,
and some brilliant goalkeeping by Julio Cesar, as they managed a
goalless draw in the first leg at San Siro. And now, Sir Alex Ferguson’s
side, who have not lost their last 18 Champions League tie at Old
Trafford, will be hoping their terrific home record helps them get
over Jose Mourinho’s Inter, the current Serie A leaders.
Arsene
Wenger’s men will be hoping to perform a repeat of last year
– they beat AC Milan 2-0 in their away match at the same stage
of the tournament – when they take on Roma. They already have
the advantage of winning on Robbie van Persie’s penalty in
the first leg at home.
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