© EuroFootball.com
On Wednesday, there will be two more first quarter-final matches in the UEFA Champions League. The strongest team in France, "Lyon," will play against Italy's vice-champion "Milan," while Milan's neighbor, Milano "Inter," will host the league debutant "Villarreal."
In the past two seasons, "Lyon" has been eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals twice, losing to opponents they expected to beat. However, now facing the six-time league winner "Milan," the multiple French champion hopes for better results in the role of a less renowned team.
So far, the teams have not met in UEFA competitions, but "Lyon" has played successfully against Italian teams - winning two out of four home games and achieving three wins in four away games, including two victories at the "San Siro" stadium against Milano "Inter." In seven away games to France, "Milan" lost four times and did not win in the last three matches, but at home against the French team, they have performed better and have not experienced a loss so far.
"Lyon" coach Gerardo Houllier believes that the winner of the match will be determined by individual mastery. The French team's strategist also urged his players to play better and compensate for the loss of one of the team's leaders, Juninho Pernambucano - the Brazilian defender known for his excellent penalty kicks will have to watch the match from the stands due to disqualification.
"When you lose your best player, you find yourself in a more difficult situation. It would be the same as Milan without Kaka or Shevchenko. But we can compensate for his loss by inviting another good player and everyone trying harder," Houllier stated. "Our goal is to win without conceding a goal. I told my players to be patient because there may not be many chances. The match will be decided by two or three moments of individual mastery."
Warming up for the Champions League matches this season, "Lyon" did not win in their country's championship - after wasting numerous opportunities, the French champions failed to beat "Toulouse" and ended the match in a draw of 1-1. Meanwhile, while preparing for the quarter-final matches, "Milan" appeared to be much more successful and defeated "Fiorentina" with a score of 3-1 in a "Serie A" game, giving the team's coach Carlo Ancelotti additional confidence in his players.
"We are currently in good shape, both physically and psychologically – this was reflected in our recent matches. The Champions League is a big priority for us, and I expect a strong performance. I want us to be positive and try to score at least one goal," said C. Ancelotti.
The Italian team's coach faces the most problems in the defense department. Due to injuries, Cafu and Jaap Stam will not play, while the team's symbol Paolo Maldini has not fully recovered and should remain on the bench. In the right defensive side, veteran Alessandro Costacurta will play, who surprised everyone in the match against "Fiorentina" with successful gameplay in this unusual position, and in the attack, Alberto Gilardino is expected to return to the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, "Lyon" coach G. Houllier, aside from Juninho's disqualification, will be able to select all players. Defenders Anthony Reveillere and Claudio Cacapa returned to the team, but Francois Clerc and Patrick Muller are likely to retain their positions. Benoit Pedretti or Jeremy Clement will take Juninho's place in the midfield.
Predicted line-ups:
"Lyon" (4-3-2-1): Coupet; Clerc, Cris, Müller, Abidal; Tiago, Pedretti, Diarra; Wiltord, Malouda; Carew
"Milan" (4-3-1-2): Dida; Costacurta, Nesta, Kaladze, Serginho; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf; Kaka; Shevchenko, Gilardino
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Together with Lisbon's "Benfica," the debutant "Villarreal," considered one of the biggest surprises in the UEFA Champions League, will try to prove on Wednesday at Milano's "San Siro" stadium that the club can go far not only because of favorable circumstances.
Both teams have not met each other so far, and "Villarreal" has played three times against Italian clubs in knockout matches and emerged victorious every time. The first time they faced "Inter" in 1964 in the final, they defeated Madrid's "Real" and became the winner of the European Club Champions' Cup, but overall, they have had more failures than victories against Spanish clubs.
In today's match, "Inter" coach Roberto Mancini hopes to finally see his attackers "catching fire." Although this year "Inter" has finished just two matches in all tournaments without scoring a goal, 20 goals in 13 UEFA Champions League and "Serie A" matches are surely too few for a team with players like Julio Cruz, Adriano, Alvaro Recoba, and Obafemi Martins. However, the lackluster contribution of the attackers is often offset by the reliable defense and the occasional productive contribution of the defenders in the attack.
Even R. Mancini admits the problem of the attackers' "drought": "We need to play better, especially in attack - we waste so many good opportunities. You can't say that the attackers are in poor athletic form because all four are, but they just need to be more precise."
On the other hand, in their debut season, the far-advanced "Villarreal" players may be difficult to stop simply because they have no burden: they have already exceeded the expectations of both their fans and experts.
The "Villarreal" coach Manuel Pellegrini expresses a similar sentiment: "We were considered weaker than 'Everton' (whom they defeated in the third CL qualifying round), 'Rangers,' and 'Man Utd,' but we won. We can expect something similar now."
However, the ambitions of "Villarreal" in this match may be severely limited by three disqualifications in the team. Alessio Tacchinardi, Josico, and Rodolfo Arruabarrena will be unavailable due to received yellow cards. Moreover, it is still unclear whether Javi Venta, Antonio Guayre, and Juan Manuel Pena will recover from their injuries.
In the "Inter" camp, there are significantly fewer absences – only Portuguese Luis Figo will not be able to play due to an injury, with Dejan Stankovic likely to take his place, and left-back Giuseppe Favalli. Having scored only three goals after the winter break and the most inaccurate shots this season in the Champions League, the Brazilian Adriano will have another chance to prove his worth in the attack, while in the left-back position, R. Mancini will choose between Pierre Wome, who made a fatal mistake in the Italian championship match last weekend, and Cesare.
Predicted line-ups:
"Inter" (4-4-2): Toldo; Zanetti, Cordoba, Samuel, Wome; Stankovic, Veron, Cambiasso, Cesar; Adriano, Martins
"Villarreal" (4-4-2): Viera; Venta, Rodriguez, Alvarez, Pena; Sorin, Riquelme, Senna, Font/Cazorla; Forlan, Franco/Jose Mari
