by Khilen Mehta

The draw for the quarter final and the semi final stages of the Champions League took place last Friday in Nyon, Switzerland amid rumours that the draw had been rigged. An anonymous post on a football forum correctly predicted the outcome two hours before the live draw and UEFA was forced to react quickly to claims of fixing the ties. After the dress rehearsal of the draw in the morning kept apart all the English clubs, it seemed almost inevitable that the official draw in the afternoon would bring together two English teams in the quarter final stage for the first time. And it was Arsenal who would meet Liverpool in the quarter final stages of the competition. Arsene Wenger’s side will play the first leg at home on 2 April, with the return leg at Anfield on 8 April. With a league game between the two sides sandwiched in between these two fixtures, it could well prove to be a make or break week for both clubs aspirations of silverware this season.. The winners of the Arsenal-Liverpool showdown - the first time those two clubs will have met in European competition - will then take on Chelsea or Fenerbahce in the semi-finals, while Manchester United or Roma face Barcelona or Schalke 04.

With Fenerbache and Schalke 04 appearing in the quarter final stages for the first time, few would bet against Chelsea and Barcelona proceeding to the later stages. However, the atmosphere may prove more intimidating than expected for the Chelsea players, with Istanbul a notoriously loud and daunting theatre of football, where few teams come away with a positive result. Barcelona are also currently struggling with injuries and boardroom unrest, giving Schalke 04 a slim chance of pulling off a massive upset.
Manchester United fans have good reason to be more nervous than the players for their tie against Roma. Roma are familiar opponents for United and their meeting on April 8/9th will the sixth between the two clubs in a year having clashed in the group stages in the autumn and in the quarter-finals twelve months ago. However, these ties were marred by fighting between the two sets of fans and the tie will be played with one eye on both sets of fans.
According to the bookmakers, English sides make up four of the top five favourites to lift the trophy. If Chelsea can overcome Fenerbahce in their quarter-final, not only could they face their semi-final conquerors of 2005 and 2007 in Liverpool, but also that England would be guaranteed a presence in the final. At this stage few would bet against an English side lifting the trophy in Moscow on 21 May.