I missed to write about the Champions league draw. FC Barcelona got one of the easiest pairing with Stuttgart as opponent. No offence meant to Stuttgart fans and players, but there was a potential chance of facing bayern, AC Milan or Lyon. The first leg of the tie takes place in Stuttgart on 23rd of February and the reaturn leg will take place in Camp Nou on 17th of March. Ex-Barca player Hleb is in the squad of Stuttgart and will make his first return to Camp Nou after the transfer. Stuttgart had a great last season but they are way off colour this season. Bundesliga has reached the half-way mark and Stuttgart lie in the 15th position. So Barca definitely could not have asked for a much better tie. Meanwhile all across Europe there has been some interesting paring for the knockout stage. Italina teams AC Milan and Inter will face Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. The English teams will definitely have the advantage of playing the second leg at home, even then an English - Italian encounter always is volatile. Real Madrid has been paired with Lyon. The french Champions could be a very strong opponent for Real but again Real plays the second leg at home. The whole line up is given below:
Inter Milan v Chelsea
Lyon v Real Madrid
AC Milan v Manchester United
Olympiakos v Bordeaux
FC Porto v Arsenal
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Stuttgart v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
Meanwhile World Club Champions, Barca has arrived in Kuwait for playing a friendly with local club Kazma Sporting Club.