Man. United at most risk in English bid for sweep

Holders Manchester United's tie with Inter is the most precariously balanced as the big four English teams bid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the second year in succession.

Man. United figured in a 0-0 draw at the San Siro in the first leg last month whereas Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all hold 1-0 leads.

Alex Ferguson's side beat Inter 3-1 on aggregate en route to their Champions League success in 1999 but an away goal at Old Trafford tomorrow would put the Italian champions through in case of a score draw.

United's impressive defensive record will be put to the test as injuries might force manager Alex Ferguson to field a makeshift back four but he will be relieved that Nemanja Vidic is available after missing the first leg through suspension.

He may be tempted to field Carlos Tevez from the start after the Argentine striker's two-goal performance in United's 4-0 FA Cup win at Fulham on Saturday.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho also has injury worries in defence but will welcome the return to form of strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli, who both scored in Saturday's 2-0 win at Genoa.

Last season's runners-up, Chelsea, will fancy their chances of eliminating twice champions Juventus in Turin today after a Didier Drogba goal gave them the edge in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho, Juventus will sorely miss midfielder Mohammed Sissoko, who broke a foot in Saturday's 1-0 win over city foes Torino.

Arsenal, runners-up in 2006, take a 1-0 lead to Rome for their meeting with Roma tomorrow following a 3-0 FA Cup victory over Burnley on Sunday.

Liverpool, who won Europe's premier club competition for the fifth time in 2005, had a weekend off as they prepared to defend their 1-0 lead against nine-times winners Real Madrid at Anfield tonight.

Real's rekindled Spanish title hopes suffered a setback on Saturday when a 1-1 draw with city rivals Atletico left them six points behind leaders Barcelona and once again exposed their defensive frailties, only poor finishing from Atletico denying the visitors a win at the Bernabeu.

Atletico will need the lethal finishing of Diego Forlan and his Argentine strike partner Sergio Aguero if they are to eliminate 2004 winners Porto following a 2-2 draw in Spain.

The South American hitmen have scored 30 league goals between them this season, including the last five in a 4-3 home win over Barcelona and the draw with Real.

Barcelona ended a patchy run of form with a 2-0 league win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and are favourites to go through after a 1-1 first-leg draw at Olympique Lyon.

Bayern Munich are virtually assured of a berth in the last eight after a 5-0 first-leg win against Sporting in Lisbon.

Panathinaikos host Villarreal with the advantage of an away goal after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.