UEFA CHAMPIONS NEWS
Liverpool hoping striker Torres can return against Real Madrid
While Liverpool and Real Madrid cling to fading hopes of winning their domestic titles, the two sides resume their chase for the Champions League trophy when they face each other Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Liverpool scored a valuable away goal in a 1-0 first-leg victory and enjoyed a rare weekend off from competitive action to prepare for the Anfield game.
"Physically and tactically we have been able to do more things," manager Rafa Benitez said ahead of a crucial week that ends with a trip to Premier League leader Manchester United.
While Benitez thrives on the European stage, he said the second leg should not overshadow Liverpool's bid to reduce United's seven-point lead in the Premier League.
"The Champions League is a massive competition so to progress and being in the quarter-finals is very important for the fans, the club and the money - everything," Benitez said Monday. "The game against United will be crucial again.
"If we win, we can start thinking about the title - if we cannot it will be very difficult and almost impossible. That's the situation, still we are in a fantastic position - better than last year and improving."
With Albert Riera already suspended, midfielder Yossi Benayoun - the goal-scorer in Madrid - tore his hamstring in training and Benitez said it will be "difficult" for the Israeli to be fit for the home leg.
Right back Alvaro Arbeloa will undergo a late fitness test Tuesday on his hamstring injury.
"He is especially important because he dictates the rest of the lineup," Benitez said.
Fernando Torres remains a doubt after sustaining an ankle injury two weeks ago in the Spanish capital.
"Fernando is training but not in the full sessions," Benitez said. "We are doing special sessions with specific work with some players. Hopefully he can train today and then we will see.
"It depends on his reaction after the session and then again tomorrow. I think he can be part of the squad and maybe he can play some minutes, but I can't guarantee how much."
The return of Torres could inspire the attacking emphasis Madrid defender Pepe expects from Liverpool - in contrast to its cautious approach in the Santiago Bernabeu on Feb. 25.
"I don't think Liverpool will focus so much on defending - we should take advantage of that," Pepe said. "I'm really worried about the team as a whole. They all work hard and know exactly what they have to do. They are all quality players and they didn't really miss (Gerrard) in Madrid."
Nine-time champion Real Madrid - seeking a first quarter-final spot since 2004 - will be encouraged by the fact Liverpool has won just two of its last 12 European home matches against Spanish teams. The Reds have also responded to away wins in the Champions League four times in the last nine years by losing at Anfield.
Elimination from the Champions League on Tuesday could mean coach Juande Ramos, who lost his only match against Liverpool as Tottenham manager last year, runs the risk of ending the season without a trophy.
"If we manage to turn around the tie that would lead to a certain amount of prestige being regained," Ramos said Monday through a translator. "I still have 3 1/2 months left on this contract and I feel very comfortable about that. . . . Whether we win tomorrow or get eliminated, it will not influence my contract."
Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer, Raul Gonzalez, has brought his family with him to northern England hoping they will witness a turnaround in the club's European fortunes.
"We know we have not done well at this stage of the competition for last few seasons so let's make amends for that," said Raul, who is looking to build on his record 66 European goals. "It's a day for making history, but we know it will be a difficult game because Liverpool have a slight advantage being 1-0 ahead."
Ramos seems likely to recall Gonzalo Higuain, who played only in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Atletico. The draw ended Madrid's 10-game winning streak in La Liga and left the defending champions six points behind leader Barcelona. Canadian Press
Buffon: Juventus Can Reverse Chelsea Result
Juventus and Chelsea will face-off in the return leg of their Champions League tie at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin and Bianconeri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is confident that he and his team-mates can overturn the 1-0 defeat suffered two weeks ago.
"Against Chelsea, we must play like we have done on the road in the Champions League [this season]. We can battle hard and reverse the result in London," suggested the Italian international, according to Datasport.
This past week, Buffon claimed that a Turin derby win would assist in building Juventus' confidence ahead of their highly-anticipated clash against Guus Hiddink's men and that is exactly what occurred, as the Bianonceri won by a slim 1-0 scoreline on Saturday.
"We are all happy with the outcome of the derby and the satisfaction we were able to give to our fans," explained the 31-year-old.
"I think that by the end of the championship, they will be able to save themselves, so next year we will be able to have another special match."
Juventus and Chelsea will kick-off at 20:45 CET on Tuesday and Buffon will have to put in a solid performance in order to keep the Pensioners from finding a significant away goal. Goal
Bayern comfortable in 5-0 lead over sporting Lisbon
The heat is off Juergen Klinsmann for the time being - the Bayern Munich coach can afford to field some rarely used players when his team takes a 5-0 lead into the Champions League second-leg match against Sporting Lisbon.
Although Klinsmann has been cautioning his players to take Tuesday's round-of-16 match at Allianz Arena seriously, it would be amazing if Bayern did not make the quarter-finals. No team has ever squandered such a lead in the Champions League.
"It looks on paper as if it were a formality, but it is not so, it's not a given," Klinsmann said. "We have to take it seriously and we can't afford to be careless."
The win in Lisbon took some pressure off Klinsmann, whose team was struggling in the Bundesliga with three defeats in five games. It lost 4-2 to Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup to concede one of two domestic titles won last year before the coach's arrival.
But Bayern warmed up for Tuesday's match with a 5-1 rout of Hannover and the Bundesliga situation looks better now, too. Bayern is one of four teams trailing leader Hertha Berlin by four points.
The stadium is still expected to be at full capacity with 66,000 fans and Bayern can use the match to reconcile with its demanding fans, who had been highly critical of some of the team's recent performances.
"The stadium will be full and we must play well," goalkeeper Michael Rensing said.
Bayern will be without its two biggest stars, midfield playmaker Franck Ribery and striker Luca Toni, who also missed Saturday's match against Hannover. Toni is recovering from an Achilles' tendon injury and Ribery has a shin injury.
Also missing will be captain Mark van Bommel, rested to avoid a possible yellow card that would mean suspension in the quarter-finals.
Klinsmann is likely to start rarely used Brazilian defender Breno and Argentine midfielder Jose Ernesto Sosa.
Miroslav Klose, who leads the Champions League with six goals, is likely to have Lukas Podolski as partner in the attack.
"I think we can say without arrogance that we are all but in the quarter-finals," club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
Sporting coach Paulo Bento seems to accept his team are out of the competition, leaving top scorer Liedson at home and taking two players from the youth team to Germany.
Bento said after Sporting's 2-0 weekend win at Pacos Ferreira, which left it four points behind leader FC Porto to stay in the Portuguese title race, that "logically, the round has been decided."
Sporting's injury list includes midfielders Fabio Rochemback and Leandro Romagnoli and Portugal striker Helder Postiga.
Yannick Djalo is likely to partner Derlei in attack, while Simon Vukcevic returns to the midfield.
The Lisbon club has never previously come this far in the competition.
"One thing we cannot do is stop fighting for victory," Bento said. "When Sporting plays, we are always untroubled, our players are proud and we have the dignity of the club. That's what we'll be defending in Munich where, for sure, I'll be making some changes." Canadian Press
Pellegrini Hoping For Better Villarreal Luck Against Panathinaikos
Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini is confident that his team can eliminate Panathinaikos in Greece tomorrow night, and advance to the last eight of the Champions League.
El Submarino Amarillo were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the tie in Spain a fortnight ago, but many Spanish observers felt that they gave one of their best performances of the season, and were unlucky to record only a draw.
The side will face a passionate Greek support along with Panathinaikos tomorrow night, and the away goal advantage that Henk ten Cate's men hold could be crucial.
Pellegrini thinks his side will be fine though, if they can match their first leg performance, and receive a little dose of luck in the process.
"I hope that we will play as we played in El Madrigal, even though there we weren't lucky," he stated on his pre-match press conference today.
"It won't be an easy game. I don't think either team can be considered favourites.
"Panathinaikos have the away goal but we will go for the win. If we can control as much possession as we did in the first game, and convert more of the many chances we always create, then we can get the right result."
And Pellegrini was clearly treating the match-up tomorrow as a 'one off' game, a 'final' in which victory was the only option.
He concluded, "Tomorrow the better club will advance. We have to play in 90 minutes with the same passionate way and score whenever we get the chance." Goal
