Champions League Semifinals Leg 2

The second legs of the Champions League semifinals are today and tomorrow at 2:45 pm on Fox Soccer. To the surprise of many, both of the German sides were able to come out victorious in the first legs with each winning rather handily over the Spanish opposition. Borussia Dortmund were victorious 4-1 over Real Madrid with Bayern Munich winning 4-0 over Barcelona.

Borussia Dortmund @ Real Madrid (Tuesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer) (AGG: Dortmund 4-1)

The key for this game is whether or not Real Madrid can STOP Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski managed to score all four goals against Real Madrid in the first leg and was unstoppable. He had his way with Madrid's back four and made goalkeeper, Diego Lopez, look like he didn't belong out there.

I'm shocked to see Diego Lopez has been named the starting goalkeeper after the last performance and thought that Real Madrid should definitely change it up and go with their captain, Iker Casillas. Casillas has been the guy in front of net for years now and has managed to lose his starting job due to injury. He should have been the first choice in front of goal for Madrid and it shouldn't have even been a question.

Madrid will need to win this game either 3-0 or 4-1 most likely if they are going to advance. They need to outscore Dortmund by at least three goals in order to tie up the aggregate. If the game ends 3-0 Madrid they would advance. If it ended 4-1 it would go to penalty kicks. If Dortmund scored two or more goals then Madrid would need to win by at least four goals.

Dortmund will likely come into this game trying to play defensively. They have the three goal lead and will be trying to do everything in their power to keep that lead. Expect the center backs of Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic to have their hands full today, but they should be able to keep it from not getting too out of hand.

If Madrid is going to win they are going to need a surplus of goals that they just weren't able to get in the first leg. Gonzalo Higuain is getting the start with Karim Benzema likely coming on at halftime. They will both need to score if they are going to want to end up in the final. Cristiano Ronaldo will likely get one goal so they will need their defense to step up and possibly keep Dortmund scoreless. Ronaldo was the only man for Madrid to get a goal in the first leg.

While I think Madrid will get a good amount of goals, I'm not sure if they have a four-goal night in them today. I think Dortmund will be able to get the one goal they'll need as they will keep this game close enough to advance.

Prediction: Real Madrid wins 3-1 (Borussia Dortmund Advances on Aggregate 5-4)

Bayern Munich @ Barcelona (Wednesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer) (AGG: Munich 4-0)

As crazy as it was to see Real Madrid lose by three goals, it was even crazier to see Barcelona go down by four. Thomas Muller led Bayern Munich with two of their four goals with Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez each adding one apiece.

The team that is considered the best in the world manage to go scoreless in one of the biggest games of the year and they will have to change a lot if they are going to advance to the final. Their defense allowed four goals, which is unheard of for Barcelona. Their four or five defenders that they use are all arguably a part of the top 10 defenders in the world right now.

Barcelona can't afford to let in a single goal tonight and if they do it will likely be over. If one goal is to go in for Munich, Barcelona would have to score at least six in order for them to advance. If Barcelona is going to advance they are going to have to pull off the impossible.

I'm expecting Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas will have to come out and try to get some goals on the board early. They can't afford to wait too far into the game to start racking up the goals. I could even see Barcelona going to a three-man defense in back and trying to play a much more offensive game.

In all seriousness I just don't think Barcelona has a shot in hell at advancing. There's no way that Bayern Munich is going to slow down their scoring and there's no way Barcelona is going to score five or six goals. Manuel Neuer will have a long night tomorrow, but it will be worth it when his team is playing in what will likely be an all-German Champions League Final.

Prediction: Barcelona wins 3-2 (Bayern Munich Advances on Aggregate 6-3)

Champions League Semifinals Leg 1

The Final Four of soccer is starting up in a couple of hours as the Champions League semifinals will feature the two best teams from Spain and Germany. Barcelona and Real Madrid will try to prove why Spain has the best two teams in the world today, while Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will try to prove that their German teams are right up there with them.

Barcelona @ Bayern Munich (Tuesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer)

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been the best two teams in Europe so far this year. They have both gone on to win their league titles relatively easy and have dominated just about everyone on their way to this semifinal match-up.

Lionel Messi has been cleared to play for Barcelona for this game and he will be the man to watch. He has been the best player in the world the last few years and hasn't shown any signs of possibly losing the top spot. With a healthy Messi, Barcelona are considered to be the favorites to win the Champions League as he has managed to score 57 goals in the 46 games he has played so far this year.

While Messi is the man to watch for Barcelona, they still feature many other world-class players in Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. The three of them are considered to be some of the best midfielders in the sport of soccer today with Xavi and Iniesta both being perennial runners for player of the year award.

Barcelona's back four has switched depending on who has been healthy this year, but the five main guys splitting time back there have been Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol. The five of them have done a great job in helping goalkeeper Victor Valdes protect the goal all season long.

The man to watch for Munich is goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. With Madrid's Casillas being injured for a majority of this season, Neuer has stepped up as the world's best goalie. Neuer has been the key to Munich's resurgence as the top team in Germany and one of the best teams in the world. Prior to his arrival they were relying on lesser-caliber goalkeepers that had trouble when playing against the world's best.

Munich has many players on their side that could add goals for the German squad. Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez will split the time at striker for their side with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery providing the help on the wings. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller will be the guys in the central midfield trying to control the game that will likely be controlled by Barcelona's passing. Munich will have to try and keep possession between those three guys as Barcelona has shown all year that they can keep possession for the majority of the game on their way to victory.

This game will feature two of the best offensive squads in the world with both teams trying to just contain the other squad rather than stop them altogether. Messi and Mandzukic will both find the nets for their squads, it's just a matter of who else will end up finding the net that will change the outcome of the game. With Munich playing at home today, I like them to come up victorious as Messi might not be 100 percent fit.

Prediction: Bayern Munich win 3-2

Real Madrid @ Borussia Dortmund (Wednesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer)

When you look at the prestige of these two clubs and the names that will be featured in this game, you'd expect Real Madrid to run all over Borussia Dortmund. However, that is not the case as the German side has already shown twice this season. In group play the two teams played twice with Dortmund winning one game and the other ending in draw. In the first game Dortmund won 2-1 with goals coming from Marcel Schmelzer and Robert Lewandowski with Cristiano Ronaldo getting the lone goal for Madrid. Alvarao Arbeloa scored an own goal while Marco Reus adding one of his own for the Dortmund side in the second game which ended in a 2-2 draw. Pepe and Mesut Ozil added the two goals for Real Madrid.

Neither of these teams will be winning their respective league titles as the two teams playing in Tuesday's game will be claiming those trophies. Madrid will be trying to win their tenth European title this year and are the favorite to come out of this pairing. They haven't been able to defeat the German side yet this year, but with them setting all of their focus now on the Champions League, they should be able to come out victorious.

Whenever people talk about Real Madrid the first name that comes to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is the main key to Madrid's chances, but he is not who I am worried about. All year long fans and journalists have complained about the lack of goals coming from strikers Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain. Both Benzema and Higuain have struggled this season with finding the back of the net and there have been many rumors of Madrid trying to go after some new strikers in the summer transfer market including Falcao of Atletico Madrid and Edinson Cavani of Napoli.

If Madrid is going to advance they are going to need Benzema and Higuain to step up or they will likely end up going home. If they can each manage to get at least one goal out of the two games that should be enough with Ronaldo and others being able to get in some others to advance.

Dortmund will be relying on their big three of Lewandowski, Reus and Mario Gotze for their scoring. Lewandowski and Reus have done most of the scoring for Dortmund this year with Gotze being the main playmaker for their side. Gotze has been a player on most team's radars with the summer transfer market coming up and has shown to be one of the best attacking midfielders in all of Europe.

With Madrid's usual starting goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, possibly sitting on the bench for this game, I think there will be plenty of goals to come from this week's game. Madrid was unable to defeat Dortmund so far this season and with this week's match-up taking place on the road, I'm expecting this game to end in a draw.

Prediction: Draw 2-2

Champions League Round of 16 2nd Leg Preview Part 2

There are four games this week being played. The only game that seems to be out of reach is the Bayern Munich-Arsenal game as Bayern hold a two-goal lead and will be home in their match. The match that I think will be the biggest this week is the AC Milan-Barcelona clash on Tuesday.

The games being played this week and last are the second legs of the round of 16. The winners of this round will advance on to the quarterfinals in the first week of April. As bad as I am at picking almost every other sport, I'm currently ranked 27th on ESPN's Champions League pick'em so I'm hoping my picks continue to go in that direction.

Tuesday's Games:

AC Milan @ Barcelona (Aggregate: Milan 2-0)

In this first leg between the two AC Milan came out and shocked most of the world by defeating Barcelona 2-0. Without Mario Balotelli for the Champions League they were still able to score two goals against arguably the best team in the world at this point. Milan's goals came from Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari who have given Milan the two-goal lead going in to the second leg.

Barcelona will be playing a very offensive game today as they are already trailing two goals due to the aggregate. They will likely need to score at least three goals if they are going to win today due to them not scoring any goals as the away side in the first leg. I'm expecting Milan to play a very defensive game which scares me. They will likely be playing with two defensive midfielders in hopes of keeping Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barcelona attack from getting a lot of looks today.

I think it is inevitable that Barcelona will come out scoring. Milan was able to stop them from scoring in the first game and I just don't see them being able to do that again. Whether or not Milan is able to add a goal of their own today will be what decides everything. If Milan can score at least one goal that would mean that Barcelona would need to score four for the win. My guess is Milan get at least one today and keep Barcelona from scoring more than three and advancing due to the away goal rule.

My prediction: Barcelona win 3-1 (Aggregate:Draw 3-3) (Milan advance on away goals)

Galatasaray @ Schalke 04 (Aggregate: Draw 1-1)

The first match ended in a draw between the two with Jermaine Jones scoring for Schalke and Burak Yilmaz scoring for Galatasaray. This game isn't getting as much coverage as the other game of the day due to the other two clubs being two of the biggest in the world, but each of these teams can be a real threat due to their guys up front.

Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Galatasaray's Didier Drogba both didn't score a goal during the first leg and I'm guessing both of them will be giving each other's defense some trouble in this game. The addition of Drogba and Wesley Sneijder in the recent transfer window has greatly strengthened the Turkish side and this is a time where their added leadership and play need to be high if they are going to advance.

I'm expecting a couple of goals to be scored in this game. I think both teams will be playing offensively due to the aggregate being tied at ones. Whether or not Galatasaray will be able to score multiple goals is what will decide this game because of the away goal rule. I'm guessing Schalke will return home though and outplay Galatasaray on their field today.

My prediction: Schalke win 2-1 (Aggregate: Schalke win 3-2)

Wednesday's Games:

Arsenal @ Bayern Munich (Aggregate: Bayern 3-1)

The first game saw Bayern come to London and completely outplay Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Bayern had two goals in the first half from Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller with Lukas Podolski bringing it closer in the second half with a goal of his own for Arsenal. It was when Mario Mandzukic added a third goal for Bayern that the match-up between these two teams appeared over.

Today Arsenal will have to pull off a miracle. If they are going to win this game they are going to need to score at least three goals as the away side just as Bayern did in the first leg. Manuel Neuer is in my opinion the best goalkeeper in the world at this point. I'm highly doubting that Neuer will give up any more than two goals at any point so the likelihood of Arsenal pulling that off isn't likely going to happen. Not only that but I just think Bayern are the much better team than Arsenal and I'm expecting them to win at home.

My prediction: Bayern win 2-1 (Aggregate: Bayern win 5-2)

FC Porto @ Malaga (Aggregate: Porto 1-0)

In the first game between the two sides I thought that the play of Joao Moutinho would be what would shift the game for the Portuguese side. 10 minutes into the second half and Moutinho scored the only goal of the game that will now be heading for the second leg between the two teams on Wednesday.

If Malaga is going to win this game they are going to have to play a much better game than they did the first time around. They only had two shots on goal for an entire 90 minutes and only had possession of the ball for only 37 percent of the game. The player to watch in this game will be Isco for Malaga. If they are going to advance it's going to be because of him. He's going to need to help Malaga get a goal or two if they have any hopes of making it on to the next round.

My prediction: Draw 1-1 (Aggregate: Porto win 2-1)

Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Preview Part 1

The group stage is finally over and 16 teams remain with the possibility of being crowned the Champions of Europe. Half of those 16 teams will be playing games this week with two games happening today and two tomorrow.

This week's action includes 1st leg games between Juventus and Celtic, Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk, and the "Game of the Week" between Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Today's Games:

Juventus @ Celtic

Juventus come into this game having finished first in the Group E table while Celtic finished second in Group G. Juventus are currently sitting atop the Italian Serie A table and all signs are pointing to them winning this year's title rather easily. Celtic is also atop of their league title and currently have an 18 point lead in the Scottish Premier League.

Juventus are the major betting favorites in this game. They are the better team that plays in a much better league. Celtic hasn't really had any competition in Scotland this year due to Rangers being relegated due to financial reasons. Juventus should be able to win both games against Celtic rather easily behind their goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

My prediction: Juventus win 2-0

Paris Saint-Germain @ Valencia

This game should be the closer game of the day. PSG finished first in Group A and currently sit atop French Ligue 1. Valencia finished second in a very weak Group are F and are currently struggling in fifth place this season in Spain's La Liga.

Valencia are a slight favorite over PSG because they are the home team, but I'm expecting the now French giants to be able to win this game on the road. Valencia won't make it easy for them, but PSG just has way too much firepower up front especially with Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the way.

My prediction: PSG win 2-1

Tomorrow's Games:

Manchester United @ Real Madrid "Game of the Week"

Cristiano Ronaldo is making his first appearance against his former club. Most would argue that Ronaldo is the second best player in the world right now only behind Barcelona's Lionel Messi and all of the talk is on how Ronaldo will play against his former team.

Manchester United are coming into this game after finishing first in Group H and are currently leading the English Premier league by eight points. Real Madrid aren't having as great a season as they have had as of late and are struggling to keep most of their players healthy. Real Madrid finished second in Group D and are currently third in Spain's La Liga.

Without any hopes of winning La Liga, Real Madrid have put almost all of their focus on possibly winning their 10th Champions League title (was once called European Cup as well). Manchester United have been on a roll this season and are making it known that they are once again the best team in England.

This game is going to come down to what one player does. If Ronaldo plays well then Real Madrid will walk out the winner. If he ends up struggling this game could end poorly for Madrid and Los Blancos could be on their way out of the Champions League. I'm expecting Ronaldo to rise to the occasion today and wouldn't be surprised if he added multiple goals for his side.

My prediction: Real Madrid win 3-1

Borussia Dortmund @ Shakhtar Donetsk

This game is really taking a backseat to the other game of the day. Dortmund managed to finish ahead of Real Madrid in the Group D table and are currently second in the German Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich. Shakhtar Donetsk tied Chelsea in Group E for second place, but managed to score more away goals when the two played each other which gave them the edge in the table. Shakhtar Donetsk currently sit atop their Ukrainian Premier League table and are currently dominating the rest of their league.

Shakhtar Donetsk are very small favorites over Dortmund, but I'm expecting these teams to finish even tomorrow. Expect the striking pair of Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus to help add a goal or two for the away side and make sure that the home team doesn't walk out with a win.

My prediction: Draw 2-2