Man U desperate for win

LONDON – With hopes of a top-four finish in the Barclays English Premier League fading, Manchester United approach tonight’s Champions League soccer last 16 first-leg match at Greek champions Olympiakos desperate for a positive result.
The match kicks-off at 9:45pm.
Not only does the competition represent United’s last realistic hope of silverware this season, but David Moyes’ side may need to win the Champions League just to qualify for next season’s tournament.

United are currently 11 points below Liverpool, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League place, and with only 11 games of the season remaining, qualification via the league may already be beyond them.

United have won only four of their 11 matches since the turn of the year, but the Champions League provided a respite from their domestic woes during the European autumn.

The three-time continental champions qualified comfortably as Group A winners, winning four and drawing two of their six matches and enjoying handsome 4-2 and 5-0 victories over last year’s runners-up Bayer Leverkusen.

Nevertheless, with Arsenal and Manchester City having already lost their own last 16 first-leg matches, to Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively, the tournament final in Lisbon on May 24 remains a long way off.

“Only one team can win it, and it’s very hard,” United striker Robin van Persie told Champions magazine.
“It’s a trophy many players don’t win; once, if you’re very lucky. You have a couple of players who’ve won it more than once, but it’s a very special trophy everyone wants to win every year.

“It seems to get harder every year to win it, because the teams are getting better and better. So it’s always hard if you want something everyone wants.”

United warmed up for tonight’s game at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus by winning 2-0 at Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on Saturday, with Van Persie opening the scoring from the penalty spot.

Wayne Rooney doubled United’s lead to mark his 300th league appearance for the club with a goal and celebrate his new five-and-a-half-year contract, which is reportedly worth £300,000 a week.

It was a rare straightforward afternoon for United manager Moyes, who was able to start a game with Rooney, Van Persie, Adnan Januzaj and record signing Juan Mata in his team for the first time.

Mata is cup-tied in the Champions League, but Moyes hopes to have defenders Rafael da Silva, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans available to face Olympiakos after the trio sat out the trip to Palace due to injury.

United are unbeaten against Greek teams and Olympiakos have not reached the Champions League quarter-finals since 1999, although they have won at home to Arsenal twice in the last two seasons.

The Greek giants can nonetheless take heart from their breathtaking domestic form, having won 24 and drawn two of their opening 26 league games and reached the semi-finals in the Greek Cup.

Saturday’s 4-0 win at OFI Crete came at a cost, however, with experienced Argentine striker Javier Saviola forced off with a left thigh injury that has ruled him out of the game against United.

Serbian forward Marko Scepovic, Saviola’s replacement, scored a hat-trick, but he is ineligible to play against United, having turned out for Partizan Belgrade earlier in the tournament.

With top scorer Kostas Mitroglou having left for Fulham last month, Nigerian forward Michael Olaitan is expected to lead the line tonight.
Olympiakos coach Michel, the former Real Madrid midfielder, believes that his side’s performance against OFI proves that they are ready for the challenge of tackling United.

“I’d love to see my team have the same concentration, the same passion and enthusiasm that we had (against OFI) in the match against Manchester United,” he said.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund head to Zenit Saint Petersburg for tonight’s Champions League soccer last 16, first-leg clash on the back of a shock Bundesliga defeat and injury worries.

Last year’s Champions League finalists Dortmund slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Hamburg on Saturday and lost defensive midfielder Sven Bender for the next 10 weeks with an inflamed pelvis.
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has promised improvements in Saint Petersburg.

“Things will be very different there,” said Klopp before yesterday’s flight to Russia.
Zenit certainly have the squad to trouble Dortmund with the likes of Brazilian striker Hulk and ex-Arsenal attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin.

“Our team is fit and we are fully focused, a big plus for us is our great fighting spirit,” said Zenit’s ex-Bayern midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.

Zenit’s director of sport Dietmar Beiersdorf was at Hamburg’s Imtech Arena to witness Dortmund’s debacle.
“Of course, Borussia Dortmund fill the favourite role,” said the former Hamburg boss.

“The team has a very good reputation in Russia, it’ll be a great challenge for our club and our team.”
There is a danger the Russians will be rusty.

Zenit have not played since December 6, but won their final warm-up match on Saturday with a 2-0 friendly victory over Estonia’s Narva Trans with Venezuelan new-signing Jose Salomon Rondon scoring both goals.

Zenit “is one hundred percent ready for Borussia Dortmund,” insisted their Italian coach Luciano Spalletti, but his side won five of their ten friendlies in Qatar, Israel and Turkey over the winter break.

Nevertheless, Klopp was furious with his team’s mentality against a Hamburg side who had lost their last eight matches and admitted they were punished for taking their hosts too lightly.

But Dortmund centre-back Manuel Friedrich has said they will not make the same mistake against Zenit.
“That was a blip,” insisted Friedrich.- AFP.