UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals 1st leg: Man United v/s Bayern, Barca v/s Atletico

The real battle for the UEFA Champions League crown begins tonight with defending champions Bayern Munich travelling to a faltering Manchester United while Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Atletico Madrid face other in Nou Camp.

Manchester United will entertain recently crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich with the United faithfuls hoping that the big occasion will bring the best out of the faltering Manchester United team. Manchester United’s plummet towards mediocrity this season has been such that they go into the quarter-finals as overwhelming underdogs against Bayern Munich and hold little hope of ousting the defending champions out of the Champions League over the two leged quarter final.

Atletico Madrid have been definitely the team of this season as they are atop the La Liga standings with just 7 matches to go and are punching above their weight in the Champions League. But tonight they would face the most formidable opponent they have faced all season in the Champions League in the form of Barcelona, who are slowly returning to their best. Atletico will be banking upon their talisman Diego Costa to deliver the goods for them but he is a doubt for tonight’s match with an injury. For Barcelona, the focus will be on Lionel Messi as he has finally returned to form after his lengthy injury lay-off.