Six thought-provoking predictions for this week's two champions league ties.

This week, the football world will be full of excitement and anticipation as four of not only Europe’s, but the world's best teams will clash in the first legs of the champions league semi finals. Bayern Munich will host Real Madrid at the Allianz arena on Tuesday, while Barcelona will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Wednesday night. With so many incredible players on show, both games will be footballing spectacles that every football fan should enjoy. So here are some bold predictions for what will happen in these two games.

The David Luiz and Lionel Messi battle will be one to savour

With John Terry seemingly missing this vital game due to injury, it means David Luiz will have the dreaded task of marking the world's undisputed greatest player: Lionel Messi. Some are suggesting Messi will completely and utterly destroy the Brazilian centre back; however I think Luiz may be able to do the seemingly impossible. If Luiz isn't too rash, his will to win, energy and pace may give Messi a tough night, and if Luiz does really well, it could lead to Chelsea going through. A message to Messi: underestimate Luiz at your peril.

Barcelona's midfielders will cause Chelsea a great deal of problems

Three years ago, at this same stage in the champions league, Chelsea were two minutes away from reaching the champions league semi final in Rome. A last minute goal from Andrés Iniesta ended up denying Chelsea this opportunity, but overall Chelsea's midfield, and particularly Michael Essien did a reasonable job of keeping both Xavi and Iniesta quiet throughout the course of the two legs. However, due to a spate of injuries received by the Ghanaian midfielder over these last three years, Essien isn't anywhere near as effective as he was back then. Some say Ramires or the recently much improved John Obi Mikel should be given this role, but in my opinion, neither player is proven enough at keeping such dazzling, skilful players quiet in a big game situation such as this. If this proves to be correct, Barcelona will dominate, and Chelsea's defence will be inundated.

Chelsea will score at least one goal

Now the general consensus heading into this first leg is that Barcelona will dominate possession and that they will frustrate Chelsea. However, although I won't deny Barcelona will probably dominate possession, I think Chelsea will bring the game to Barcelona, just like they did back in 2009. Barcelona's questionable full backs may struggle to cope with Mata's trickery, and Chelsea’s marauding full backs, Ivanovic and Cole will make defending even tougher for the Catalan. Plus, with Torres showing signs of getting back to his former self, Pique and Puyol may again struggle against an English team.

Mario Gomez will score at least one goal

Over the last year, German striker Mario Gomez has shown himself to be more than worthy of being considered one of the world’s top strikers, having scored a sensational 39 goals in 45 games. If Real Madrid fail to stop the man who is the champions league’s top scorer on 12 goals, then getting to the final may be a tough ask for La Liga’s leaders. Plus, with the likes of Robben and Ribery in the Bayern team, Gomez should expect to receive a great deal of service. I predict that the expected defensive partnership of Pepe and Sergio Ramos will struggle to contain the in-form striker, which could lead to Gomez scoring one, maybe two goals.

Philip Lahm v Cristiano Ronaldo

This is the sort of match-up football fans dream about. In one corner you have Philip Lahm; a battling, determined player who many fans consider to be one of the best fullbacks in world football. In the other corner, you have Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese forward who has scored an incredible 48 goals in just 53 games, and since joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, he has scored 137 goals in 139 games. Two superb players who many would put in their dream world XI will go up against each other in this match, and if Lahm manages to keep Real Madrid’s star man quiet, it could significantly hurt Madrid’s chances of advancing.

Real Madrid’s defenders will make some questionable tackles

Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao aren’t thought of as the cleanest of players and despite Real Madrid’s fantastic season in La Liga this year, Los Merengues and specifically manager Jose Mourinho have received criticism in some quarters for having too many divers and dirty players. At this stage of last season’s champions league in a match with Barcelona, Pepe was controversially sent off after a tackle on Dani Alves. With Bayern possessing creative, skillful players such as Robben and Ribery in their squad, and being in the intense, hostile atmosphere of the Allianz arena, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of Real Madrid’s more aggressive, immature players lose their cool and commit a potentially dangerous foul, which could result in something damaging, like a penalty or a red card.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and be sure to look out for some of these things to happen in these two massively important games.

   

Chelsea all time best XI

                         Chelsea all-time best XI

For fans of any club, the debate over who is that club’s all-time greatest eleven is an everlasting one. It is a way of comparing generations and really evaluating the quality of the team’s history. So, as a lifelong Chelsea fan here’s my take on the club’s greatest ever team.

GK: Petr Cech

Since joining the blues from French side Rennes back in 2004, Petr Cech has become one of Chelsea’s most reliable performers and also one of the best goalkeepers in the world thanks to his incredible reflexes and his magnificent positioning. What makes Petr Cech even more of an outstanding choice for this position is that he has helped Chelsea win three FA cups, three premier leagues and two league cups while with the west London club. Amazing to think that he suffered a terrible head trauma back in late 2006 in a game against Reading, yet he is still one of the game’s most revered goalkeepers.

Honorable mention: Peter Bonetti

RB: Ron Harris

Nicknamed ‘’chopper’’ for his fierce style of tackling, Ron Harris is one of Chelsea’s most passionate captains in the club’s history, as well as a fan favorite to this day. Harris will mostly be remembered for his physical yet solid performance in the 1970 FA Cup final against Leeds United, which Chelsea managed to win. One of the hardest players to ever play the game, Ron Harris may have struggled in the modern game with its harsher discipline rules but he’s a Chelsea legend all the same.

CB: Marcel Desailly

The French-Ghanaian defender was somewhat of a surprise signing for pre-Abramovich Chelsea back in 1998, as he had just won the world cup with France at the time. However, Desailly’s passionate performances for the club showed that he was desperate to gain yet more success while at Chelsea while also endearing him to the Chelsea faithful. Desailly’s greatest day in a blue shirt occurred in 2000 where his solid performance helped Chelsea win the 1999/2000 FA Cup. Desailly’s experience also helped with the development of fellow centre back and current Chelsea captain John Terry.

Honorable mentions: David Webb, Frank Leboeuf

CB: John Terry

Arguably Chelsea’s greatest ever youth team product, John Terry wears his heart on his sleeve almost every time he appears for the blues. In many ways, he is the ideal centre back with fantastic heading ability, a tremendous deal of determination when it comes to protecting the Chelsea goal, and his organizational skills are obvious whenever he’s playing. It’s possible that if it wasn’t for the uniting force John Terry brings to the Chelsea dressing room, he wouldn’t have lifted as many trophies as he has since being made captain in 2004.

LB: Ashley Cole

Widely considered as one of the best, if not the best, left back in the world today, Ashley Cole has proven why Chelsea fans were ecstatic when he signed for the club back in 2006 from London rivals Arsenal. Whoever Ashley Cole comes up against, that player knows they have a tough job on their hands, due to Cole’s excellent positioning and tackling. It is a testament to Chelsea’s colossal improvement as a club since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 that Chelsea can both attract and keep a player of Cole’s ability

DM: Claude Makelele

One of Roman Abramovich’s very first signings as the owner of Chelsea, Claude Makelele’s importance to Chelsea in his five years at the club is impossible to overstate. His best season at the club was his second season and Jose Mourinho’s first, where Makelele added extra security to Chelsea’s defence while playing just in front of the two centre backs. Such was Makelele’s brilliance in this role, the defensive midfield position is often now referred to as the ‘’Makelele role’’.  A truly great servant of Chelsea football club.

CM: Frank Lampard

When the term ‘’goalscoring midfielder’’ is mentioned the vast majority of people would think of Frank Lampard, and judging by the stats rightfully so. The English midfielder has scored 184 goals in 550 games, a record even most strikers would be proud of. The £11 million Chelsea spent taking him from West ham back in 2001 was a truly fantastic bit of business and Lampard is one of very few players who’d be able to be successful in any footballing era.

CM: Dennis Wise

Just like John Terry and Ron Harris, Dennis Wise is a Chelsea captain whose passion and sheer will to win made him an instant hero amongst the Chelsea fans. His goal at the san siro against AC Milan in the group stages of the UEFA Champions league in the 1999/00 was one of the most memorable moments in Chelsea’s history, and is a moment blues fans cherish and sing about to this day.

Honorable mention: Roberto Di Matteo, Ray Wilkins

ST: Bobby Tambling

Holding the Chelsea goalscoring record of 202 goals, Bobby Tambling is a true Chelsea legend. A player who embodied the typical striker of the 1960’s, Bobby Tambling was very much a poacher who had an innate ability of being in the right place at the right time. Throughout his eleven years at the club, Bobby Tambling was a true Chelsea icon.

Honorable mention: Kerry Dixon

ST: Peter Osgood

One of the most famed moments in the entire history of Chelsea football club was a diving header from the then Chelsea number nine Peter Osgood to put Chelsea in the lead in the FA cup final replay against Leeds United. This wasn’t the only remarkable thing Osgood done in this FA cup campaign, the Chelsea number nine in fact scored in every round of the tournament, one of only nine players in history to do so. Over the years, fans of the blues gave Osgood the moniker ‘’king of Stamford bridge’’.

ST: Gianfranco Zola

As far as accolades go, they don’t come much better than being named the greatest player in your club’s history by the fans of that club, but that’s just what happened in 2003 to Gianfranco Zola. Throughout the Italian’s seven years at Chelsea he dazzled the club’s fans with his flair, energy and when the ball was at his feet, the things he did with it could only be described as magical. Zola’s incredible contribution to Chelsea has been honored in recent years, as no one has taken his old number of 25 since he left in 2003.

Martin O'Neill: Sunderland's savior

For the first three months of the season, Sunderland appeared to be a sinking ship. Failed new signings, decreasing attendances and top players leaving, all meant change was needed. Steve Bruce was sacked and replaced by Martin O'Neill and it proved to be an inspiring decision.

Flashback to Saturday November the 26th and Sunderland's board of directors and their fans feared the worst after a 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan. Their defence looked incredibly shaky that day and with just three months into the season, Sunderland resembled a wounded animal. One of the things that really frustrated a great deal of Sunderland fans was that all of the pre-season hope had simply faded. The sales of Jordan Henderson (£20 million) and Darren Bent (£24 million) meant that Sunderland were able to spend a considerable amount of money on the likes of Craig Gardner, Sebastian Larsson, John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Ji Dong Won yet the squad was simply taking too long to gel together.

Eventually, the club's American owner Ellis Short decided enough was enough and sacked manager Steve Bruce.

As soon as the news broke, Martin O'Neill was the name almost everyone was suggesting to take over. After the decision to give O'Neill the job was made public, Sunderland were a club rejuvenated.

In O'Neill's very first match at the helm, a late Sebastian Larsson free kick was enough to give Sunderland the three points against Blackburn. Since this vital victory, the club have gained some impressive wins, such as a 1-0 win against Manchester City, a 4-1 win away at Wigan, and a 1-0 win at one of the premier league's toughest stadiums to play at, the Britannia stadium, the home of Stoke.

But what has caused Sunderland's miraculous turn in fortunes? While Steve Bruce was manager, Sunderland couldn't seem to find any consistency or confidence. An interesting fact is that the Mackems didn't win consecutive matches in the season's first three months under Bruce. When Sunderland produced a spectacular 1-0 victory over Manchester City back in January, their next result was an equally impressive 4-1 demolition of Wigan.

Some would point to the fact that Martin O'Neill grew up supporting Sunderland and this was made clear from the start. This knowledge instantly endeared the Northern Irish man to the people of the city and the stadium of light was considerably fuller at O'Neill's first game against Blackburn than it was during the frustrating and tiresome days of Steve Bruce's reign. Did this inspire the players to dig deep and find a late winner?

But if you were to think of Sunderland's key players since early December, you'll most likely come up with the following players: Stephane Sessegnon, Nicklas Bendtner, Sebastian Larsson, James Mcclean, David Vaughan and Craig Gardner. The thing that relates all these players is that they've all improved or at least been of the same quality as they were under Steve Bruce. They're all a lot more confident as well, and O'Neill's motivational skills have clearly come into play here, much like they did at Aston Villa. Villa were in a similar situation as Sunderland were in when O'Neill took charge and each player improved massively and the club soon became a much more feared entity.

Despite O'Neill clearly still having his feet placed firmly on the ground, it's understandable to see the sense of excitement around Sunderland at the moment. The improvement has been so vast and happened so quickly. Next season will be one filled with pre-season hope for the club's fans and the fears after losing Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent are slowly extinguishing. Indeed, it is a very exciting time to be a Sunderland fan.