The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

In the first eight matches of this Champions League matchday, there was plenty of excitement to go around. Some sides like Chelsea have made sure that they’re going through top of the group, while others like Arsenal have complicated their Champions League campaign terribly.

In these eight games, there were 23 goals scored, making for an average of 2.8 goals per game. But what I find very interesting is that in these eight matches, there were four players sent off with red cards! All four sending offs were in the second half of the matches, and three were in the last five minutes. I guess it’s a sign that the tension is rising as teams need to qualify for the next round of the tournament.

The most exciting match which took place today was Roma – Bayern Munich, with the Italian side triumphing at home 3-2. Bayern started the scoring with Gomez taking advantage of shaky Roma defending in the 33rd and 39th minutes, leaving Ranieri’s side in a bit of disarray going into the second half. But Roma came out to win the match in front of their home fans, and Borriello pulled one back four minutes into the second half, then in the 81^st minute De Rossi scored to make it 2-2. And in the 84^th minute, Roma were awarded a penalty, and their legendary captain Francesco Totti stepped up and scored the winner.

A fantastic match which keeps Roma in second place, three points behind Bayern Munich, and three ahead of FC Basel. FC Basel defeated CFR Cluj at home 1-0, with Alerares scoring the only goal in the 15^th minute. Cluj had Piccolo sent off with a direct red card in the 88^th minute, and the player will miss their next Champions League match against Roma. So Group E is relatively tight with Roma needing a win if they want to qualify, while Bayern look pretty solid up in first place with a goal difference of +7.

Chelsea faced Zilina at Stamford Bridge, and while they went a goal down in the first half, Ancelotti’s side scored twice in the second half in order to win 2-1. Zilina scored from a quick give-and-go passing move which Bello poked past Turnbull. It was the youngster Sturridge who equalized, and Chelsea began to press on, with Drogba almost scoring from a free kick, and  youngster van Aanholt smacking an effort against the post. It was Florent Malouda who scored the winner in the 86th minute for Chelsea, helping his side get their fifth in a row in the Champions League, qualifying them mathematically for first place.

Behind Chelsea which has fifteen points, Olympique Marseille are second with nine, with Spartak Moscow following the french side with six points. Marseille defeated the Russian team comfortably 3-0 in Russia, with Valbuena, Remy, and Brandao scoring the goals while Welliton was sent off for Spartak. While it is mathematically possible for Spartak Moscow to steal Marseille’s second place and qualify for the next round, Marseille have a goal difference of +8, while Spartak’s is -4, so it’s very likely that Chelsea and Olympique Marseille will move on to the next round from Group F.

While Chelsea have qualified to the next round, Arsenal have made their qualification a little more difficult after their away loss to Sporting Braga. It was a 2-0 win for the Portuguese side with Matheus Nascimento scoring both very well taken goals. What will bother Arsenal fans the most is probably the fact that their side conceeded the goals in the 83^rd and 90^th minutes, and that they’ll probably have to win next Champions League matchday in order to qualify.

This is because Sporting Braga are tied with Arsenal with nine points, with the English side ahead by goal difference. Ahead of both of the sides is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk which defeated Partizan 3-0, which puts them first with 12 points. Watching all the action from the very bottom of the table is the Serbian side Partizan, the team has only scored one goal, and has zero points, and their chances of picking up some points next matchday are slim, considering that they’ll be facing Arsenal which will be fighting for qualification.

Jose Mourinho will be glad that his team, Real Madrid, conquered first place in the group with a 4-0 away win over Ajax, but he won’t be too glad about the two players which received red cards in the final minutes of the match. Everything was going perfectly all the way until the last five minutes of the match, the Spanish side were 4-0 up with Benzema and Arbeloa on the scoresheet along with Ronaldo who scored twice, of which one of the goals was a penalty.

But in the 87^th minute Xabi Alonso gets a second yellow card for time wasting (his first was for throwing the ball away during a stoppage of play), and therefore a red card, and just minutes later Sergio Ramos replicates his teammate and gets sent off for wasting time as well! But Jose Mourinho won’t care too much, especially considering that this win mathematically qualifies his side in first place.

AC Milan have also mathematically qualified for the knockout round in second place after their 2-0 win away from home against Auxerre. And it was Ibrahimovic who scored a fantastic goal, a truly unstoppable rocket which shows that the Swede has been playing wonderfully and scoring plenty of goals to help his side, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Serie A. Ronaldinho got the other goal in the 90^th minute, a sly dribbling move finished by a curled left foot shot onto the far post.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Will Arsenal qualify? What about Roma? Can they catch Bayern? Share your comments below!

The penultimate matchday of the Champions League group stages is coming up, and it’s make-or-break time for some big clubs. These midweek matches could even decide the future for some coaches, like Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, who’s been getting some bad results with the holders of the Champions League. Plenty of teams have the chance to qualify for the knockout round, but they’ll have to do the business, and see how they match up against Europe’s other elite sides.

Roma – Bayern Munich

This is a match of huge proportions for both sides, while Bayern Munich have already mathematically qualified, the Bavarian side has been having lots of difficulty in the Bundesliga. Louis van Gaal’s side is 8th in Germany’s top league, with 14 points to make up between them and the table-leaders Borussia Dortmund. So this match is relatively important if Bayern want to begin to string together some wins, and have a hope of retaining the Bundesliga title this season. Roma on the other hand have six points in the group, and they lead the other two sides by three points. Claudio Ranieri needs to win this match if he wants to go deep into this competition with the giallorossi, and it seems like his squad has the momentum. The frenchman Menez has scored great goals so far this season, and he looks like a very dangerous player for any opposition defence, the question is, will he be able to pierce Bayern’s?

All of the Group A matches

Group A is extremely tight right now, you have last season’s competition winners, Inter Milan, second only by goal difference to the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides on seven points, and below those two, Twente have five points, while Werder Bremen only have two! So the matches taking place in this group are crucial to see who will pass through to the next round, and who will come first.

First you have Inter Milan hosting Twente, and the Dutch side get to face Benitez’s team at the perfect time. The nerazzurri are in total disarray, having not won once in their past five matches, and the team is devastated by injuries to many key players. So if Twente can pull off a surprise win away from home,they’ll have a good chance of going through to the next round in place of the holders of the competition.

The other Group A match is first placed Tottenham Hotspur hosting Werder Bremen, and it’s the German side which has been doing badly this season. They’re 12th in the Bundesliga table, just four points away from the relegation zone, and in the Champions League group, qualification would take a miracle. Tottenham on the other hand are coming in to this match having just won a fantastic North London Derby against Arsenal where they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, away from home! So while on paper this looks like a pretty simple Tottenham win, Werder Bremen might pull out a sneak result, putting a stick between the spokes of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

I haven’t been able to adress all the matches which will be taking place this midweek, but if you have any comments or thoughts regarding any matches in the Champions League, make sure to share them below!

After a truly fantastic matchday of Champions League action, there are so many things to review, especially after so many goals were scored. There were 53 goals scored in all 16 matches of the Champions League this midweek, that’s an average of 3.31 goals per game! Not bad at all.

Real Madrid travelled to Milan to play the rossoneri, and while Jose Mourinho added a little spice to the crowd by waving with three fingers (which indicates the treble he won last season with Inter Milan), the match was full of excitement. The first goal came at the 45 minute mark when Higuain took advantage of a slightly disorganized Milan backline, received a simple pass with his back to goal, and turned around to slot it into the back of the net.

Then in the second half, Allegri put on Inzaghi for Ronaldinho, and the Italian striker was phenomenal for AC Milan. He scored two goals to give the home side the lead, and surpass Gerd Muller’s all time scoring record in the competition by scoring his 70th goal in the tournament.

But Mourinho is a sly and lucky man, and in the 94th minute of the game, substitute Karim Benzema picked out another substitute Pedro Leon with a defence-splitting through pass, and Leon finished through Abbiati’s legs for an epic equalizer. With this point, Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stages, but AC Milan will have to do will in their upcoming two matches against Auxerre and Ajax to make sure they qualify as well.

There was another story of revenge in this Champions League midweek, with Eduardo’s side Shakhtar Donetsk defeating his former club Arsenal. Things looked a little worrying for Shakhtar when Samir Nasri clipped the outside of the Ukrainian goal in the beginning of the match. After that, just ten minutes into the match Theo Walcott scored a wonderful goal from a deadly counter-attack finished by a sublime low curling shot. Arsenal needed a win to cinch qualification, and things were looking good for the gunners early on.

But Shakhtar fought back right away, and managed to hit the woodwork and then forced Fabianski to an excellent save. Finally Shakhtar scored, and it was the former Barcelona player Chygrynskiy who headed home from a free kick, and Fabianski couldn’t do much since there was a slight deflection as the ball flicked off of Eastmond’s head. Then, the true blow for Arsenal fans arrived, and it was their former player Eduardo who delivered it. A composed first-touch finish by Eduardo from a low pass across Arsenal’s penalty box gave the home side the winner. And while Arsenal fought back, it wasn’t meant to be as Shakhtar held on for an amazing home win.

Tottenham defeated Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane, with another outstanding performance by Gareth Bale. The Welsh international dominated the left wing and assisted two goals for Harry Redknapp’s side, and it was Samuel Eto’o who scored a lovely goal for Inter Milan.

Chelsea also got a big win, 4-1 over Spartak Moscow, and it was Bratislav Ivanovic who scored a brace! Drogba also made his Champions League season debut this match, and had the captain’s armband on for the English club as he scored as well.

Roma fought for a good 3-2 win away against Basel, a particularly inspired Menez gave the Romans the lead, and then Totti followed up with a penalty. After that Frei pulled one back for the home side, but the youngster Greco scored Roma’s third to make sure that Basel didn’t get their hopes up. Shaqiri scored the final goal of the match to make it 3-2, as Roma pull off an important win in this Champions League campaign.

Bayern Munich travelled away and pummelled CFR Cluj 4-0 with Mario Gomez scoring a hat-trick, but that wasn’t the biggest scoreline of this midweek. Marseille defeated Zilina in Slovakia, with Gignac scoring a hat-trick, and even former Real Madrid defender Heinze getting a goal.

There were plenty of amazing matches, and sadly I can’t cover them all. Please comment below about any of the matches which happened in the Champions League today, or any which will be happening in the Europa League tomorrow!

It is quite early to discuss next season’s Champions League particularly with the World Cup looming ahead but Inter’s historic treble was much more than a great achievement. It proved once again how difficult it is to repeat as a champion in Europe’s elite club competition. For the Nerazzurri winning the Champions League is the ultimate experience having waited for more than four decades to repeat as champions of Europe.

President Massimo Moratti helped fund the building of the Nerazzurri squad and brought in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho with the specific objective of bringing European glory to Milan considering the current Serie A title holder have not won the Champions League since the 1960s. Previous boss Roberto Mancini succeeded in breaking the dominance of Juventus and Milan since the early 1990s but failed to combine domestic success with an extended run in Europe’s elite competition as he never guided the Nerazzurri to the Final.

Mourinho succeeded in winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League yet he is racing to the exit door leaving the Nerazzurri in a delicate situation following the best season in the club’s history. Players such as Maicon and Diego Milito are now being linked with a move to Real Madrid which is Mourinho’s likely destination. It is only time before Mourinho is confirmed as the boss in Madrid unless he has a change of heart and opts to stay with the Nerazzurri. Other clubs are beginning to assess their chances of luring some of Inter’s key players to leave the peninsula as Arsenal have reportedly shown interest in goalkeeper Julio Cesar while Manchester City are looking to capture midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. These reports might not become reality but all these claims are a major distraction for a club celebrating a historic treble and with some of the star players headed to South Africa 2010.

Assuming Mourinho and some of the players jump ship, the Nerazzurri will be losing some key components while skipper Javier Zanetti is only getting older despite his consistent displays. Zanetti deserves credit for his fighting spirit and for putting in solid performances time and again despite his age. Below is a brief look at some of Inter’s main competitors for next season:

Barcelona: The former holders were ousted by Inter and will be looking to regain their lost title. Barca are one of the most talented teams in the world with Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez leading the charge. Barca have added a star name in the shape of striker David Villa while the Catalans remain in pursuit of Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas. If they do sign Fabregas then the team will likely start the next La Liga season and Champions League campaign as one of the favourites.

Real Madrid: The record winners of the Champions League will welcome with open arms Mourinho who has made it clear he will only leave the Nerazzurri for Madrid. In Madrid he will have greater individual talent to work with yet less of a cohesive unit and a weaker team spirit. Mourinho will be motivated to turn this team of stars into a strong and unified squad. Los Galacticos already have former Milan idol Kaka and world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks but it would not be a surprise if Mourinho asked for Maicon and Diego Milito to be signed from Inter. If they do, then Los Galacticos will be considered as a firm favourite considering they only missed on La Liga title by three points and many forget it does take time for news players to gel together.

Chelsea: Ironically Mourinho was shown the doors at Stamford Bridge because he failed to bring European glory to the London club but he did punish his former employers by eliminating them in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating them twice home and away. Chelsea hired former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian succeeded in leading the Blues to a historic double by winning the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge. Ancelotti made it clear his main objective for next season is to repeat the domestic double and to win in Europe. While Chelsea have a strong squad with experience and talent, the players as individuals are below the talent level of Spanish giants Real and Barca.

Bayern Munich: Bayern proved they are a solid team after a slow start to the season and the final in Madrid was perhaps a small representation of their season as they only began to show their potential after conceding the first goal to Inter’s hero Milito. The Bavarians will have Arjen Robben (despite rumours linking him with Juventus;  just unlikely to happen for a number of reasons) and French star Franck Ribery will apparently return after missing the Champions League final due to suspension. The Germans are a solid group but like Chelsea they are not on par with Real and Barca if individuals are compared on a position by position basis.

Manchester United: Manchester have one of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson but he can certainly be stubborn leading him to make the odd mistake here and there, particularly when it comes to offloading certain players or refusing to bring in the appropriate players to replace outgoing stars. The Red Devils did not replace Cristiano Ronaldo and their challenge for Chelsea in the Premiership and before that in the Champions League tie against Bayern  faltered once it became clear Wayne Rooney is carrying injury. If Manchester do not sign a couple of solid players, in particular one goal scorer to complement Rooney, then they will likely fall short in the early knockout stages with perhaps a quarter-final spot at best.

There are other less likely contenders but the strongest ones would be Italian duo Roma and Milan yet the two sides have a number of limitations such as their restricted budget for bringing in players and in the case of the Rossoneri an aging squad. Milan will need Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato to stay and will hope a capable coach will take charge at Milanello to promote a few promising players from the youth sector and sign a number of quality players to reinforce the team. As for Roma they have do not have a deep bench and their first team is often riddled with injuries due to the age of some key players such as Francesco Totti. It is unlikely either squad will win the Champions League but they can play the role of a spoiler if their stars remain healthy and fit.

It is quite hard to repeat in the Champions League as shown by the famous Milan side in the 1990s which dismantled Barca 4-0 in an epic encounter only to loss the next year in the final to Ajax Amsterdam who in turn were defeated the following year by Juventus. The Bianconeri would go on to play in two more consecutive finals yet the curse of repeating would also prove to be their downfall despite having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (at his peak).

Congratulations to Inter Milan on winning the 2010 Champions League Final. More pictures after the jump.

Bayern Munich have failed in their attempt to overturn the ban imposed on Franck Ribery who is now confirmed to miss the Champions League final in Madrid. This is considered as a big blow for the Bavarian club considering the French star was hitting form in the latter stages of the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

Ribery was sent-off against Lyon for a stamp and was given a three-match suspension by UEFA. Bayern attempted to get the ban reduced yet UEFA turned down the German club’s initial appeal leaving the Germans with no option but to resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Unfortunately for Bayern, CAS decided against overturning the suspension and the Bavarians will now have to take on Inter without one of their star players. Ribery’s absence will be felt considering most of the attention will now turn to fellow star Arjen Robben who will probably be given special treatment by the Nerazzurri. The advantage for Inter is the fact they do not have to divide their attention between the two stars and can now focus on restricting the movement and opportunities falling for the Dutchman.

Inter were able to contain Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi who is considered by many as the world’s best play on current form. As such it will not shocking if the Nerazzurri succeeding in taking Robben out of the game with some tight marking or perhaps by limiting the number of times he actually gets the ball from his teammates. Bayern will be looking to Robben for creativity and the Nerazzurri will aim to cut the supply of passes to the Dutchman in order to deprive him of the opportunity to threaten Inter’s goal.

Inter succeeded in defending their Serie A title after winning against Siena in the last round of league fixtures. Once again the hero was Diego Milito who has left his mark by scoring the winner against Siena after hitting the winning striker against Roma in the Coppa Italia final.

The Nerazzurri have been consistent in recent weeks and their efficiency was visible in the two-legged clash against Barcelona. Inter were able to overcome Barca 3-2 on aggregate after limiting the Catalans to a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou in the return leg of the Champions League semi-final. The outspoken Jose Mourinho admitted beating Barca was the greatest achievement of his managerial career and he will now turn his attention to completing the job by aiming for a win in Madrid to secure a historic treble for Inter. The Nerazzurri have a strong defensive line led by Brazilian duo Maicon and Lucio while their midfield is run by Esteban Cambiasso and playmaker Wesley Sneijder. In attack they have hero Milito as well as the experienced Samuel Eto’o who has scored in the Champions League final before.

As for Bayern Munich, the players have succeeded in winning the Bundesliga and then added the DFB-Pokal after crushing Werder Bremen 4-0 in the final this weekend. The unstoppable Arjen Robben and the threat posed by Franck Ribery have been key to securing the domestic double and reaching the Champions League final. Ribery will most likely miss the final in Madrid unless his suspension is overturned a couple of days before the highly anticipated match. In his absence the responsibility of creating the scoring opportunities and providing the inspiration will fall upon the unpredictable Dutchman Robben.

While some might argue Inter were challenged till the end by Roma and have had to deal with tougher opposition in Europe since they played Barcelona on four occasions, Bayern made a remarkable return in the Bundesliga after a slow start when coach Louis van Gaal was close to being sacked with reports claiming the Bavarian club’s management was unhappy with the results early in the season. Next Saturday Bayern will have the opportunity to complete a historic treble and despite missing Ribery they will still be a dangerous team since they tend to play as a unit as opposed to individuals. Clearly Robben has the freedom to roam and move around in order to create and score from various parts of the pitch.

Having limited Barca star Lionel Messi in the two matches of the semi-final clash it will be hard to bet against the Nerazzurri succeeding in putting the clamps on the dangerous Dutchman Robben. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid player is having one of the best seasons in his career and will be looking to clinch the coveted European trophy in order to finish the remarkable season on a high note.

This weekend witnessed the conclusion of all of Europe’s major football action and there was a unique outcome considering three clubs were able to combine the league and cup trophies together. Bayern Munich won the domestic double in Germany while Chelsea added the FA Cup on Saturday after their triumph in the Premier League the previous weekend. In Italy, Inter were able to retain their Serie A title to add it to the Coppa Italia trophy won against Roma.

All three clubs have had great seasons and have achieved a historic feat despite Bayern having done the double before and the fact Arsenal and Manchester United have done the double in England in recent years. Still this was Chelsea’s first domestic double and manager Carlo Ancelotti deserves lots of credit after taking charge this summer and finally putting to rest the ghost of Jose Mourinho who returned to haunt the London club in the Champions League this year. Since Mourinho’s departure Chelsea have failed to win the Premiership yet have now won the league and the FA Cup double in Ancelotti’s first season in charge, an achievement even the outspoken Portuguese was not able to complete during his successful spell at Stamford Bridge.

As for Bayern Munich they have rebounded after a poor start to the season and their 4-1 destruction of Juventus in Turin in the Champions League served as the turning point of their current campaign confirming their status as a serious threat both in Germany and Europe as well as building tremendous confidence amongst the Bavarian club’s players. Bayern won the DFB-Pokal after crushing WerderBremen 4-0 in the final with the club’s two star players Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery managing to put their name on the scoresheet. Now the Bavarians will eye a historic treble by attempting to win the Champions League next Saturday in Madrid.

Finally, Inter were successful in retaining their Serie A title yet perhaps suffered the most considering the title was in Roma till the 57th minute when Argentina striker Diego Milito succeeded in scoring the winner against Siena to secure the Scudetto to Jose Mourinho’s men. The Nerazzurri were challenged the most amongst the three teams considering Roma put up a brave fight and only conceded the title on the last day of Serie A. The Giallorossi actually let slip of the title when they could not convert their opportunities in the first-half of the match against Sampdoria when they were leading 1-0 only to throw away the match and lose 2-1 courtesy of a Giampaolo Pazzini double. The Nerazzurri also had to overcome the stubborn Giallorossi in the Coppa Italia final when another crucial Milito strike secured the trophy for the Milan side.

At this stage, the Nerazzurri will turn their attention to achieving a historic treble by beating Bayern in Madrid to lift the Champions League trophy. If they succeed in doing so then Inter will have achieved something special and Mourinho might step down after having won the most prestigious trophy in Europe. Regardless of who wins the Champions League, Bayern and Inter have had a great season and England’s Chelsea have also completed a great achievement by winning their first double. It will be interesting to see how those three clubs will do next season when the likes of Manchester United and Juventus will attempt to wrestle away the title from their grip. Bayern will likely continue to dominate in Germany unless they lose Ribery and Robben or one of them. Robben has been particularly crucial in the big games such as the clashes against Fiorentina and Manchester United in the Champions League when his club was in desperate need of goals and inspiration.

Inter and Bayern Munich will clash next Saturday, May 22nd in Madrid to decide the European champion in a highly anticipated match between two sides which overcame some major obstacles such as Barcelona and Manchester United. The Nerazzurri had the tougher draw of the two teams playing last season’s winners Barcelona on four occasions while the Bavarians managed to ease past Lyon in the semi-finals after benefiting from Wayne Rooney’s injury to overcome the Red Devils on away-goals rule.

While Inter will miss Thiago Motta the Germans will be missing one of their biggest stars in the form of the suspended Frenchman Franck Ribery. In Ribery’s absence most if not all of Bayern’s dangerous moves will come from flying Dutchman Arjen Robben who has been one of the key figures behind the Bavarian club’s progress to the final match in Madrid. The German club and Robben will be facing a quality defensive line led by Lucio and Walter Samuel who successfully contained Barca’s star player Lionel Messi restricting his movement and limiting his scoring opportunities.

Inter’s weapons are spread all over the pitch but Dutchman Wesley Sneijder will be a crucial player with many of the Nerazzurri attacks andopportunities created by the former Real Madrid midfielder who will be playing on a familiar ground at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The Nerazzurri attacking duo of Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o can score against the best of defenders and will be a major threat moving forward against Bayern’s defensive line. At the helm the Nerazzurri will look up to Jose Mourinho with the Portuguese coach considered one of the game’s best motivators and an expert at exploiting mental weaknesses in the opposing side. Mourinho will be doing his analysis of Bayern’s game in a very diligent manner in order to expose the  soft spots in the German side.

As for the Bavarians, they cannot be underestimated considering they have overcome Fiorentina and Manchester United in two heated ties in the knockout stages after dismantling fallen giants Juventus in the group stage. Bayern will rely on Robben in addition to the team’s strength as a unit and a group. The club’s main weakness is perhaps in goal with Hans-Jörg Butt considered as an inconsistent performer at this stage of his career. The 35-year-old had his best seasons while with Bayer Leverkusen but has now become a susceptible link in the Bayern team and it would not be a surprise if Mourinho urged his players, particularly the midfielders, to test the veteran goalkeeper whenever the opportunity surfaced. Butt did earn a contract extension once he took over the starring role in the team but that does not mean he has been a consistent performers. The goalkeeper who is renowned for scoring from penalty-kicks did impress in a number of games but he did whittle down when put to the test in certain games.

The performance of Bayern’s midfield along with Philipp Lahm who will have the tough task of containing Inter’s impressive full-back Douglas Maicon. The battle between Lahm and Maicon promises to be a decisive one and could sway the match in favour of one of the two sides. The one thing both clubs have in common is the fact they are both aiming for a historic treble. Inter have won the Coppa Italia and will be looking to add the Serie A title and the Champions League while Bayern have won the German Bundesliga and are aiming to add the DFB-Pokal as well as the Champions League.

If both clubs are able to win the domestic double then it will be interesting to see which team comes up on top in Madrid. There might be a major surprise a few days prior to the final considering Bayern Munich have appealed Ribery’s suspension to the European Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It will be quite stunning if Bayern do succeed in their appeal as UEFA has rejected it forcing the Bavarians to seek the intervention of CAS. Regardless of whether Ribery plays, Inter will maintain a slight edge considering Mourinho’s motivational skills and the massive morale boost gained by the Nerazzurri players after eliminating Barca.