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Gunners drawn against holders

Author: Sir David Smith
Date: 20/03/2010
Football betting

Arsenal have been drawn against holders Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Manchester United face Bayern Munich in a repeat of the memorable 1999 Final.

Barcelona beat the Gunners in the Final four years ago when Arsene Wenger's team had Jens Lehmann sent off and outclassed United in last year's showpiece.

Eleven years ago United produced one of the most memorable comebacks in European football history when they scored two last-gasp goals to edge past the current Bundesliga leaders 2-1.

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The German side seemed certain to claim the trophy when they led 1-0 going into injury time only for last-gasp goals by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to hand Sir Alex Ferguson his first Champions League crown.

Elsewhere, there will be an all-French quarter-final after Lyon were paired with Bordeaux while Internazionale, who knocked Chelsea out of the competition on Tuesday, will be expected to see off outsiders CSKA Moscow, who surprisingly beat Sevilla at the last-16 stage.

If United can win through to the semi-finals they will play the winners of the Lyon v Bordeaux clash, while Arsenal will face Inter or CSKA if they can shock Pep Guardiola's team.

After beating Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus in the last two rounds, Fulham have been handed another tough draw in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after being paired with last season's Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg.

The Cottagers produced an astonishing comeback in their last-16 clash against the Turin giants, hitting back to win 5-4 on aggregate after trailing by three goals in the early stages of the second leg in London.

Wolfsburg finished third behind Manchester United and CSKA Moscow at the group stage of the Champions League before Christmas and have knocked Villarreal and Rubin Kazan out of the Europa League already.

They have no chance of retaining their Bundesliga title as they are currently eighth in the table, 19 points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich.

If Roy Hodgson's team can beat Wolfsburg they will come up against either Hamburg or Standard Liege in the semi-finals.

Elsewhere the online favourites to win the competition, Liverpool, having beaten Lille 3-1 on aggregate at the last-16 stage, have been drawn against Benfica in the quarter-finals.

The Portuguese side, currently on course to win their domestic league title, thrashed Everton twice at the group stage of the Europa League, before seeing off Marseille and Hertha Berlin in the last few weeks.

The winners of the tie will play the victors of the all-Spanish clash between Valencia and Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed that Jermain Defoe will be sidelined for 'a few weeks' after the striker suffered a hamstring injury during training.

The England international joins Aaron Lennon, Ledley King, Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, Jonathan Woodgate and Carlo Cudicini in the White Hart Lane treatment room.

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