Gary Linerker
Three English clubs remain in the Champions League and when Gary Lineker makes the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Friday at 11am it will decide if Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham all face each other.
Lineker is conducting the draw at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland in his role as ambassador for the final, which takes place at Wembley on May 28th.
Two of his former clubs are in the last eight – Spurs, at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1962, and Barcelona, who are the bookies’ favourites.
Barca have already knocked out Arsenal but Wayne Rooney insists they hold no fear for Manchester United, who were beaten by the Catalan side in the 2009. “We will be confident we can win whoever we get in the next round,” said the England striker. “If you are going to win this tournament you have to play anyone – and beat them.”
Holders Inter Milan also represent a strong threat after their last-gasp elimination of Bayern Munich, while Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time, have shown against Arsenal and Roma this season they are a force to be reckoned with.
Schalke are the rank outsiders, at least in terms of the bookmakers, and they sacked manager Felix Magath on Wednesday after a disappointing season in the Bundesliga, which sees them currently in 10th position.
The quarter-final ties will be played on April 5th/6th and 12th/13th. The semi-final pairings will also be drawn tomorrow, with the matches on April 26th/27th and May 3rd/4th.
The draw for the Europa League quarter-finals and semi-finals will also take place today. It too will be open and unseeded.
The Europa League final takes place in Dublin on May 18th but there will be no British club in the final as Liverpool, Rangers and Manchester City all bowed out of the competition on Thursday night.
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