Champions league quarter final first leg: Schalke 04 vs. Barcelona

Schalke go into this match on a five game unbeaten run since losing the Bundesliga game with Bayern Munich at the start of March. Last weekend they drew away to Karlsruhe in a match that ended goalless, but still retain the third spot in their league due to Leverkusen losing away to Frankfurt.

This match could very well be the upset of the Champions League quarter final first leg games as Barcelona are very much favorites but have been having a hell of a time recently. At the weekend they threw away a two goal lead to allow Betis back into the game. Betis then went on to win the encounter by scoring three goals in the worst second half for Barca in living memory. The way the whole team just fell apart (or fell asleep) must be very worrying for the board of directors, most of them wanting coach Frank Rijkaard’s head on a plate. The Dutch manager will definitely be looking for a new job next season, and it remains to be seen if he can finish this one with any silverware. Their chances of winning La Liga are looking slimmer and slimmer after each game, and they have now slipped to third in the table behind Villarreal, who won a very important victory over fourth placed Atlético Madrid.

Another big headache for the Catalan giants is what to do with Brazilian star Ronaldhino. He didn’t even make the list for the Betis game, even though he now claims to be fully fit. Insiders in Spain say that he will never pull on the Barca shirt again this season and he will certainly be sold off in the summer. The problem is finding a club who are willing to pay for his enormous salary.

Schalke 04 by contrast are having a great season. They are third in the Bundesliga and have qualified for the quarter final of the Champions League for the first time. A lot of their success can be given a name: Manuel Neuer. This young goalkeeper has exploded onto the European scene and will surely get bigger and bigger as he gets older. He stopped two penalties in the shoot out between Porto in the last round, and was a major reason why Schalke 04 are still in the competition.

Barcelona meanwhile can rely on the presence of Rafael Martinez and Gabi Milito again, after both defenders have been given the all clear after injury. This is good news for Barca fans as their defense has been absolutely terrible of late, and the team has conceded eleven goals in the last five matches. The bad news is that Samuel Eto’o will have to make a late fitness test to see if he is able to play after picking up a thigh strain in the Betis game.

I’m going for a shock home win here. Barcelona are in crisis at the moment and I don’t see it ending any time soon. They have the second leg at the Nou Camp stadium though, and will probably feel this will be enough to get through to the semi finals.

Prediction: Home win (2-1)