Bring on Barcelona – and a repeat of Manchester United’s 1999 epics

“We’ve two unbelievable games of football to look forward to; two football clubs who play the game the right way and they will be unbelievable occasions to be part of… Anyone who is a football fan will be tuning in” – Gary Neville.

The second set of Champions League quarter-finals failed to live up to the drama of the previous night, nevertheless if you were to pick which game will light up the semi-finals it is surely the titanic tussle between Manchester United and Barcelona.

In six days at the end of April United face Barcelona twice and sandwiched between the two games against the Catalan giants is the small matter of a trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which could well decide the fate of the Premier League title this season.

Some pundits were surprised that Alex Ferguson rested a number of first team players in the second leg at home to Roma. Looking at United’s next five games, including Arsenal and Blackburn away, it is not hard to see why – especially as Roma would have liked nothing more than to kick Cristiano Ronaldo off the park on their way out of the Champions League.

Neither Roma nor Lyon have really tested United in the last two rounds. Ironically, despite their excellent recent record at home in Europe, the games at Old Trafford have been patchy performances whereas Ferguson’s side were excellent in both first legs.

The first leg of the semi-final at the Nou Camp will set the tone for the tie and United will have to be defensively resilient. Barcelona may not be on their best form but they will pose an attacking threat to any team in the world.

This is not the Barca team that beat Arsenal in the Champions League final of 2006 and United should be cautiously confident.

Much will depend on the fitness of Lionel Messi. The diminutive Argentinian schemer has declared that he hopes to be fit for the semi-finals although he will have to be careful as his hamstring injury appears to be a recurring one and Barca need him fit for both legs.

United will hope to have Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand available to cope with a star-studded attack led by Samuel Eto’o. Thierry Henry may not have had the best of seasons in La Liga but the former Arsenal striker knows where the goal is against United and will fancy his chances against Wes Brown down the left.

In addition, Bojan Krkic has announced himself to the football world in recent weeks and is becoming so important to Barcelona that Frank Rijkaard has resorted to taking him off early to protect him for future games, as the Dutchman did against Schalke in the Nou Camp.

For all their attacking prowess, and class midfielders like Andrés  Iniesta and Yaya Toure, Barcelona have a weak rearguard. This has been compounded with the suspension of Carles Puyol in the first game and Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo will fancy their chances of bagging an away goal.

Victor Valdes is a good goalkeeper, not a great one; Lilian Thuram is past his best and both Gianluca Zambrotta and Eric Abidal have failed to produce their World Cup 2006 form at the Nou Camp.

On paper, Manchester United should progress – the stark warning for them should come from their performance last season at the same stage. In AC Milan they faced a team supposedly past their best and were expected to qualify. Kaka inspired the Rossoneri to a final place and Barca have enough match-winners to make United pay for any over confidence.

For the neutrals, all we can hope for is a spectacle like the group games between these two teams in 1999 – two of the best Champions League games ever. The first at Old Trafford witnessed a great Barca comeback and a classic free-kick from David Beckham, the second featured a wonderful interchange goal from Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke.

What are the odds on a repeat and a 6-6 aggregate draw and extra time at Old Trafford on April 29?