Manchester United vs Barcelona: Champions League Final Preview

If you’re going to pay attention to one soccer match this year, this is it.

The two best teams in Europe are preparing for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League final (2:45 p.m. Eastern) at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Manchester United, fresh off their third consecutive English Premiership title, are the defending champions of the Champions League. They’ll face Barcelona, the 2006 winners and this year’s top club in Spain’s Primera Division.

There is a ridiculous amount of talent on both these teams. Manchester United have assembled such a deep collection of top-flight players that it’s not uncommon to see Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov or even Cristiano Ronaldo begin the game on the bench. According to notorious British tabloid rag The Sun, manager Sir Alex Ferguson will use the same starting 11 on Wednesday that he did to eliminate Arsenal in the semifinals. That means Tevez and Berbatov will be spectators while Ronaldo, Rooney and Ji-Sung Park start.

To be precise, it won’t be exactly the same starting lineup for Sir Alex. Darren Fletcher is suspended for the final after a controversial red card against Arsenal, so veteran Ryan Giggs gets the nod. Fletcher is having something of a breakthrough season in his seventh year as a central midfielder, but Ferguson will be more than comfortable with Plan B. The same can’t be said for Barcelona manager Josep “Pep” Guardiola. He has two players suspended for Wednesday’s match: defenders Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves.

This is a serious problem for Barcelona and a boost in betting value for the Red Devils. Guardiola is already missing Rafael Marquez from the defensive corps after he hurt his knee during the semis against Chelsea, whom United defeated in penalties for the 2008 Champions League title. The Barca defense is so thin right now that Guardiola told reporters he’d be happy to see Fletcher’s suspension overturned along with those of Abidal and Alves. Not only that, forward Thierry Henry (knee) and midfielder Andre Iniesta (thigh) are on the limp, although Iniesta insists he will be ready to go Wednesday.

Manchester United has its share of bumps and bruises. Star defender Rio Ferdinand will reportedly play through a calf injury, and Owen Hargreaves (tendinitis) has appeared in just two games this season. But with a roster this deep, Hargreaves has barely been missed. Barcelona’s injuries and suspensions make the Blaugrana less attractive at +165 to Man U at +155. A draw after 90 minutes and injury time (which we saw in last year’s final at +200) would pay +225.

This will be the seventh time these two European titans have met in the Champions League and the 10th in overall competition over the past 25 years. United holds the advantage three wins to two with four draws; last year’s UCL semifinal saw the two clubs draw 0-0 in Barcelona before Man U advanced with a 1-0 victory at famous Old Trafford. They’ll reconvene Wednesday on neutral ground in Rome; in domestic league play, United had just four losses in 19 road games this year, while Barca was even stronger away with three losses in 18 matches.

Here’s a look at the regulation-time results (including fractional betting odds for the payout) for the last 10 games for each team. Both squads emptied their benches for their most recent domestic matches after clinching their respective league titles.

Manchester United

May 25 at Hull City 1-0 win (17-10)
May 16 vs. Arsenal 0-0 draw (11-4)
May 13 at Wigan 2-1 win (3-10)
May 10 vs. Manchester City 2-0 win (1-3)
May 5 at Aresnal 3-1 win (NL)
May 2 at Middlesbrough 2-0 win (4-7)
Apr. 29 vs. Arsenal 1-0 win (5-7)
Apr. 25 vs. Tottenham 5-2 win (4-9)
Apr. 22 vs. Portsmouth 2-0 win (1-4)
Apr. 15 at Porto 1-0 win (6-5)

Barcelona

May 23 vs. Osasuna 1-0 loss (11-4)
May 17 at Mallorca 2-1 loss (13-5)
May 10 vs. Villarreal 3-3 draw (15-4)
May 6 at Chelsea 1-1 draw (12-5)
May 2 at Real Madrid 6-2 win (3-2)
Apr. 28 vs. Chelsea 0-0 draw (12-5)
Apr. 25 at Valencia 2-2 draw (11-4)
Apr. 22 vs. Sevilla 4-0 win (3-8)
Apr. 18 at Getafe 1-0 win (2-5)
Apr. 14 at Bayern Munich 1-1 draw (13-5)

Get caught up on all the Players Championship action at Bodog Sports today!