Soccer Betting Preview: Champions League Quarterfinals Begin Tuesday
Champions League quarterfinal action begins on Tuesday with the first legs as AS Roma hosts Manchester United while Schalke is home to Barcelona. Roma will be facing a tough test, especially without Francesco Totti. Barcelona is not in the best of shape in their match as they will be without Lionel Messi and Deco. They may also be without Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho.
Totti tore a muscle in his left thigh over the weekend in Roma’s draw versus Cagliari. “The team loses in percentage terms for the extraordinary things he’s capable of,” Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said, “But I have a lot of confidence that the team will assume the responsibility of picking up the slack, just as they’ve done in the past when we’ve been without our captain.” United may have been favored anyway and now that Totti is out they are expected to at least get a draw. “Roma is going to be a massive game for us and we prepared the right way with the win against Villa,” said United’s Wayne Rooney, “To be at this club, with the football we play at times, is brilliant. It’s something every player would want to be a part of.”
Barcelona is still favored to beat Schalke but with four stars possibly missing the game, it is no longer a certainty. Barcelona blew a 2-0 lead over the weekend to Betis in league action and is seven points back of Real Madrid in the Spanish league. “We feel ashamed in a football sense. We cannot explain it. Again we have allowed ourselves to lose … in an incredible way,” Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. “We have to change our game quickly and think of Schalke.”
Other Soccer Betting Champions League quarterfinal action has Arsenal and Liverpool playing on Wednesday while Chelsea visits Fenerbahce. Chelsea is hoping that midfielder Frank Lampard and goalkeeper Petr Cech will be able to play. “Lampard was very sick and he didn’t even come to the training ground,” Chelsea manager Avram Grant said. “If he can be available, we will take him on the plane and we will see about Petr Cech at the same time.”