Man Utd v Barcelona, (agg 0-0), SF, L2, 19:45
The 0-0 stalemate at the Nou Camp can be extremely deceptive:
Rijkaard will be delighted his team did not concede the all important away goal.
Ferguson on the other hand will be content with his position given a disappointing all round display by his side.
United have a perfect home record in this competition, winning 11 on the trot.
Barcelona away form has been just as impressive currently undefeated and more importantly in the context of this game have scored in all but one of this seasons Champions League away fixtures.
Fergusons record when united have failed to score in the away leg is poor. They were invariably knocked out by Galatasary (93/94),
Dortmund (96/97),
Monaco (99/00), Real Madrid (00/01), Bayern Munich (06/07) and AC Milan (06/07). There certainly is a pattern appearing here.
Prior to the first leg at the Nou Camp, I recommended a back of
Barcelona to qualify @ 13/8. United will be sure to pay the price of failing to score a away goal, they will not be able to employ the same defensive tactics as the first leg – allowing more space for Messi, Deco, Eto’o et al. This coupled with the injury doubts over Rooney and Vidic in particular and Fergusons poor semi-final record:
Barcelona to Qualify @ 5/4 represents tremendous value.
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