Catch UEFA Champions League Final live on Ten Sports

Media News

Mumbai, May 26, 2009

Carlton Palmer believes Manchester United have an extra trick up their sleeve, and will start as the favourites against Barcelona on Wednesday. The two sides go head-to-head on the biggest night of this football season, as the UEFA Champions League draws to an exciting climax with the eagerly-awaited Final in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

And all the action will be Live on TEN Sports (see schedule below), with Palmer among the panelists on the studio show. He will be joined by a special surprise guest, as they preview and analyze the match at half-time and full-time.

Barcelona did well to get past Chelsea in the Semi-Finals; but Palmer, a former England international, believes they’ll find it hard to repeat their exploits against an upbeat United. Without their natural back four, the Catalans won’t be able to start their attacking moves from their own half as easily, according to Palmer, who made a name for himself playing for Sheffield Wednesday. What’s more, the Red Devils will certainly do what Chelsea didn’t – squeeze the game and not allow any space to midfielders Xavi and Iniesta, who can run amok given the slightest chance.

United, on the other hand, will hold the aces in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo’s pace and Wayne Rooney’s finishing quality up front. Ronaldo, the 2008 World Player of the Year, has scored some exceptional goals already in their campaign, most notably against Porto in the second leg of their quarter-final. And with Sir Alex Ferguson most likely to bench Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov, it seems as though the goal-scoring onus will once again be on him and Rooney. Palmer predicts they will deliver, helping Sir Alex’s side win 2-1 and become the first team to defend its UEFA Champions League title. If United do indeed manage that, they’ll also become only the second side since AC Milan’s late-80s outfit to become the undisputed champions of Europe for a second successive year. To commemorate the event, United’s fans are planning to display a huge image of Sir Matt Busby, under whom the team won its first European Cup in 1968.

Barcelona, meanwhile, will be hoping to ride on their Argentine striker Lionel Messi, who’s being touted by many as this year’s player of the year. Sir Alex has already said he’ll be captivated by the duel between Ronaldo and Messi, and the tie could well be decided by who comes out on top in that battle. Barcelona, for all the talk of Lionel Messi's brilliance, could badly miss the influence of Thierry Henry, who'll be short of match fitness following a knee ligament injury. Coach Pep Guardiola must also make do without suspended defenders Dani Alves and Eric Abidal for the most important game of the season. However, the Barca manager has warned his counterpart, Sir Alex, that his side knows how to exploit United’s weaknesses. So the battle between the two managers could well turn out to be the highlight of the most eagerly anticipated clash of the season.

For further information, please contact:

Taj Television India Pvt. Ltd

Debparna Banerjee

Tel No: 91 2266623101

Email: debparnab@tajtv.com