Chelsea are nowhere near as good as last year and Barca will make them suffer
Conte will not want to see Messi and Co arrive
WITH three Premier League teams in a great position to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, two more re-enter the fray this week.
Manchester City and Liverpool are virtually nailed on for the last eight and it is hard to see either slipping up in their home legs against Basel and Porto.
And Tottenham have got themselves into a great position after their comeback against Juventus in Turin, although that tie is far from over.
This week Manchester United and Chelsea return to Champions League action, with contrasting games against Spanish opposition.
Sevilla are the opponents for Jose Mourinho’s side and although it will not be straight-forward for Manchester United, the draw could certainly been a lot worse.
If you remember, Liverpool destroyed Sevilla in the first-half of their group game in the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Novem- ber. They went three-up in the opening half-an-hour, before eventually throwing it away and drawing 3-3, thanks to Guido Pizarro’s equaliser in added time.
Manchester United will have too much for Sevilla, who sacked their coach Eduardo Berizzo in December, just a week after he had returned from cancer surgery. He had told his players at half-time in the Liverpool game that he had prostate cancer.
They are not in great form themselves going into the FA Cup games this weekend, but Sevilla are doing even worse. Sixth in La Liga, they have only won two of their last five.
The English side should have too much for Sevilla. I don’t want to harp on about the money spent and calibre of the players brought in by Mourinho, but the gulf between the two sides should be obvious and United should go through. Just don’t expect an open, entertaining game.
We might get that from the Chelsea/Barcelona clash which could be where the one Premier League club comes unstuck. I expect Barcelona to win over the two legs.
Luis Suarez has been absolutely on fire since the start of December, scoring 14 goals, and of course there’s Lionel Messi. Just what Chelsea don’t need.
Eden Hazard is the one player who can really hurt Barcelona but it is too much responsibility for one player.
You look at their form this season, after winning the title last year, and scratch your head. Once again they have gone from the highs of the previous season and fallen way below those standards in the following campaign.
Antonio Conte looks unhappy, and it’s hard to believe he will be there next season. His side are in a battle to qualify for the Champions League, which has to be their number one priority.
Tottenham are breathing down their necks having virtually killed off Arsenal’s top four challenge last weekend and will, I’ve no doubt, push them all the way for fourth this season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team are in great shape after their first leg in Turin this week, and it is mainly because Juventus could not live with the tempo Spurs played at.
You only have to look at the Serie A games every week. I watched Juve versus Fiorentina prior to the Champions League clash, and it was played at such a slower pace, compared to the Premier League.
But Spurs are certainly not through yet. Gonzalo Higuain could have had four in the first leg and Juventus have big-game players like Paulo Dybala and Blaise Matuidi to welcome back.
The Italians will create chances but I just can’t see Spurs not scoring.
As predicted, Manchester City had no problems seeing off Basel in Switzerland and it is no wonder they are currently favourites to win the Champions League. Who would bet against them?
But outsiders? After their performance against Porto the other night, why not Liverpool? Jurgen Klopp refused to dismiss his team from winning the competition and it was a bold statement, but he knows, with his front three, he can beat anyone in Europe.
Sane, Firmino and Salah all scored the other night and all three are either providing the assist for a goal or the pass that leads to the assist.
Salah has obviously been one of the signings of the season. To score 30 goals by February is phenomenal.
Klopp has given him belief and the freedom to go out and express himself and he is clearly enjoying himself at Liverpool.
People may scoff but there is only one of the player who can score goals like Salah at the moment, with his close control in tight situations and instinctive finishing, and that is Lionel Messi.
But if they are to keep hold of Salah, Liverpool have to compete in the Champions League and they certainly have to make a better fist of challenging for the Premier League.
They have proved they can beat the best, defeating Manchester City a few weeks ago. But then they followed that with defeats to Swansea and West Brom.
Inconsistency holds them back.