UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Barcelona duo Yaya Toure and Alexander Hleb are fit again after missing their win at Real Valladolid on Saturday but Eric Abidal and Gaby Milito remain out.

Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves, restricted to substitute appearances on Saturday, should start against Bayern.

Bayern have only two fit central defenders including 19-year-old Breno.

Lucio (groin) is out, Daniel van Buyten has returned to Belgium on a private matter, while striker Miroslav Klose (ankle) is also sidelined.

Bayern Munich boss Jurgen Klinsmann has been forced to call upon reserve-team youngster Holger Badstuber, 20, to make up the defensive numbers alongside Martin Demichelis and Breno.

Klinsmann told BBC Sport he was aware Barcelona were a "huge obstacle" that stands between his side and a place in the last four.

"We need a good result in Barcelona but then we will take them back to the Allianz Arena where there will be 70,000," he said.

"We want to see what level we are at but we go into the matches with a have a lot of confidence.

"This is a huge obstacle to winning the Champions League, but anything is possible."

The German side have won three and drawn one of their four games against Barcelona in Europe and have come out victorious on both of their previous visits to Spain.

The two sides go into the game in contrasting form, Barcelona recorded a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid after a strike from Samuel Eto'o, while Bayern went down 5-1 to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola believes it is a bad time to play Bayern.

"League form has nothing to do with the Champions League, but in my opinion it is the worst possible result for us," Guardiola said.

"Bayern have won the European Cup four times and have won their domestic league many times, and it is now sure they will arrive with even greater motivation." BBC Sport


Gerrard and Drogba look set for Liverpool-Chelsea clash

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba are set to play in the Champions League quarter-final at Anfield on Wednesday after recovering from injury.

Gerrard slightly injured his groin in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday but came through a training session on Tuesday unscathed, manager Rafa Benitez told a news conference.

Liverpool, however, will be without the suspended Javier Mascherano after the Argentina international midfielder was booked in the second leg of Liverpool's 4-0 win over Real Madrid a month ago.

Chelsea, who are meeting Liverpool in the Champions League for the fifth successive season, should have Drogba leading their attack after he came through two training sessions on Tuesday.

Drogba did not play in Saturday's 2-0 win at Newcastle United because of an ankle injury, but Chelsea's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink said in his pre-match news conference: "He is fit enough to start the game."

Chelsea's Portuguese defender Jose Bosingwa, who damaged a hamstring while on international duty last week, is out of Wednesday's match. Reuters