Inter Milan vs Schalke 04
The defending champs take on a German club after dispatching Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 on an 88th minute goal in the second leg from Goran Pandev to win on away goals. Schalke, meanwhile, beat Valencia 3-1 in the second leg getting a brace from Jefferson Farfan to win 4-2 on aggregate goals. While Inter boasts the star power with players like Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder, Maicon, Lucio and Julio Cesar, they know they have to be careful not to overlook the Germans. While Schalke is currently in 10th place in the Bundesliga, they've only lost once in their 8 Champions League matches defeating Lyon, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Benfica twice and Valencia. While Schalke doesn't have a ton of big names, they do have 33 year Spanish veteran Raul who is the all-time leader in goals in Champions League play.
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Real Madrd vs Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are one of the surprises in the tournament so far knocking off Serie A leaders AC Milan in the Round of 16 by not allowing a goal in either leg to take home a 1-0 win. Currently in 5th in the Premier League, Spurs have overachieved already and have nothing to lose in the quarterfinal round against Real Madrid. The big name won't scare them either as they've already more than held their own against Inter and AC Milan. Real Madrid made up for last year's Round of 16 loss to Lyon by winning the second leg 3-0 to win 4-1 on aggregate goals. Cristiano Ronaldo leads a star studded cast that includes Mesu Ozil, Xabi Alonso, Gonzalo Higuain and Iker Casillas that has only lost twice in league play and is unbeaten in its 8 Champions League matches.
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Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk
On paper this looks like a mismatch. Barcelona is arguably the best team in the world. They are 24-1-3 and lead the Spanish Liga by 5 points and they bounced back from their one loss against Arsenal to win their second leg match by a score 3-1 to advance. Barca is deep at every position with Victor Valdes in goal, Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique and Dani Alves on defense, Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the midfield and David Villa and arguably the world's best player Lionel Messi up top. This team is an absolute nightmare to match up against, but the Ukrainians will sure try. Don't be fooled by their lack of a reputation, Shakhtar Donetsk is not a pushover. They've won 7 of 8 Champions League matches and are 4-0 on their home turf with wins over Arsenal and AS Roma, and they're 18-2-1 in the Ukrainian Premier League, a full 9 points ahead of 2nd place Dynamo Kiev, and have outscored their opponents 39-8.
Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com
Manchester United vs Chelsea
The English are guaranteed to have one side that will make it through to the semifinals as Chelsea will take on Manchester United. Chelsea beat United 2-1 on March 1st at Stamford Bridge getting goals from David Luiz and Frank Lampard to erase a 1-0 lead provided by Wayne Rooney. United got to the round of 8 by defeating Marseilles 2-1 on Tuesday, and Chelsea made it through following a 2-0 aggregate win over FC Copenhagen. United and Chelsea faced off in the 2008 Champions League Final where Man U won on penalty kicks 6-5.
Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com
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