Dominic Vieira’s “Super Sixteen Champo Tuesday and Wednesday Round Two”

This week’s Champions League last 16 first-leg matches:

TUESDAY 23RD FEB 19:45GMT

Stuttgart x Barcelona

Olympiacos x Bordeaux

WEDNESDAY 24th FEB 19:45 GMT

CSKA Moscow x Sevilla (17:45GMT)

Internazionale x Chelsea

This Tuesday defending champions FC Barcelona will travel to Germany to play against Stuttgart, who will be bouncing back from a 5-1 thrashing they gave FC Köln. The Barcelona defence, who have not been as solid as last season and are without Eric Abidal and Chygrynskiy, must definitely look out for Cacau who is in hot form; he scored 4 goals on the weekend. Barcelona are entering this match which a 4-0 beating they gave Santander and I will expect their midfield which will be composed of Xaxi, Toure and Iniesta to dominate the match with their tica-taca style. Also, up front Barcelona’s tridente will certainly be running riot with their typical Henry, Messi and Zlatan trio. But, this is the Champions League, no game is easy and Stuttgart is a strong side at home. Hleb (former Barcelona player), Cacau, Pogrebnyak and Kuzmanovic will certainly cause danger to the Spanish side. This is definitely a must watch game which promises excessive offensive and fast football, I can see Barcelona taking this one 1-4 if they get it right, but be careful with Stuttgart.

Greek champions Olympiacos will be hosting French champions Bordeaux at the Karaiskakis Stadium, a very hard ground to play at with a menacing atmosphere. The Greek side will be without its Brazilian vice captain, who is a crucial figure in the team and will be missed. On the other hand, their striking force composed of the Spaniard Oscar and young Greek talented Mitroglu will certainly be a threat to Carrasso. Olympiaco’s Captain, Antonios Nikopolidis is a highly experienced goalkeeper and may prevent the French giants from many goal scoring opportunities. Young manager Laurent Blanc is taking a strong team which beat Lorient 4-1 last Wednesday, Bordeaux have the advantage of not having played on the weekend and will be able to utilize a fitter and well prepared team. The usual threats will be coming from Chamakh, Gouffran, Gourcuff, and in-form Wendel. Olympiacos better watch out! I could see Bordeaux taking this one, but in a highly intense atmosphere it may be hard. A 2-2 draw will put a smile on Blanc’s face.

Before I tune into the Barcelona match, my beloved Benfica will be taking on Hertha Berlin for the Europa League in the second leg of the round of the last 32. Benfica tied 1-1 in Germany and will be looking to tear apart the team which is currently sitting in last place in the Bundesliga table (they were doing so well last season!). The match kicks off at 17:00GMT at Estádio da Luz; prior to the match Benfica legend – Eusébio, will be presented the UEFA President’s award by the hands of Michel Platini. Bobby Charlton and Di Stefano have already won the award. Also, on this day Manchester United will be playing West Ham at 20:00PM in the Premier League.

On the next day, CSKA will host Spanish side Sevilla in a crunching game in Moscow. I would expect CSKA to have the upper hand here but they are currently in pre-season and they have not yet played an official competitive game in 2010, Sevilla will most definitely be a physically fitter side. Nonetheless, CSKA will be strong at home and the Sevilla stars: Kanoute, Jesus Navas, Negredo, and Diego Capel may have problems adjusting to the atmosphere and temperature. However, the spanish giants will be without their goalscoring machine Luis Fabiano on this occasion. CSKA captain Igor Akinfeev will have a loto f work in front of him and will be interesting to see how their star player, Real Madrid bound, Krasic deals with the pressure and managed to perform on the night. I see Sevilla taking this game 2-1, fast efficient football should win it.

The biggest game of the week, which had been speculated for days, is the clash between Mourinho’s Inter Milan against his former team Chelsea. It is the first time he will face his former club in a very close encounter where football will be played at its highest level. There has been a lot of mind games, media frenzies building up this game and unfortunately Mourinho is expected not to have Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar at him disposal (Inter’s nº1 smashed his Lamborghini in a road accident near the San Siro on Sunday night). It will be a big challenge for veteran Toldo to step up and keep a clean sheet – Mourinho knows the importance of away goals in the Champions League and will not want Chelsea to punish him. If any Chelsea player will make a difference tonight it will be Didier Drogba, who has having an unbelievable season, he is coming to this match having scored two goals against Wolves on the weekend. But Inter are loaded with striking options, Balotelli, Sniejder, Milito and Eto’o will all torment the Chelsea defence which are without Ashley Cole. Inter tied against 0-0 with Sampdoria on the weekend, with nine men and I can see them winning on this night. Mourinho knows he needs to deliver a Champions League to the Inter fans and will be desperate to beat his former team, also Inter have a solid home form, but without Julio Cesar it may be a struggle. Still, I see Internazionale taking this game 1-0 in the closest of battles

Don’t forget, this Thursday there are Europa League matches of the second leg of the Round of 32. Don’t miss it, and enjoy the footie!