Team News for Cesc Fabregas starts for Barcelona as Chelsea Select Didier Drogba is Preferred to Torres.

 

The Cesc Fabregas starts for Barcelona in the Catalans Champions League semi-final first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night to the Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo has left his international team-mate Fernando Torres on the bench for the cesc spoke of his desire to win the Champions League in Tuesday's pre-match press conference to a he looks to emulate his Barca team-mates in claimed the trophy last term and also in 2008-09, beating the Blues en route to victory in Pep Guardiola's first season in charge at Camp Nou.

They are tonight's clash, there is no place for Gerard Pique in a four-man Barca defence as Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano start in the central-defensive slots to the Adriano at left-back in Chelsea, Didier Drogba is preferred to Torres after his impressive display in the FA Cup semi-final to Tottenham on Sunday and the john Obi mikel, Frank Lampard and Raul Meireles get the nod in midfield for the west London outfit and will go head to head with Barca trio Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

Chelsea Squad:

 

Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Mikel, Meireles, Lampard; Ramires, Mata, Drogba

Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Bosingwa, Torres, Kalou, Sturridge

Barcelona Squad:

 

Valdes; Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Cesc, Alexis, Messi

Subs: Pinto, Pique, Pedrito, Bartra, Keita, Thiago, Cuenca

We Can Win World Cup Says Barcelona star Lionel Messi

The barcelona star Lionel Messi would love to experience success on the international stage with Argentina and he has believes Argentina are improving under new coach Alejandro Sabella and have what it takes to lift the World Cup to he has won a host of honours with the Catalan giants in the UEFA Champions League and La Liga title to has rarely produced his club form on the international stage and is yet to taste major success for the Albiceleste.

And the Messi is confident the outlook is bright for Argentina with Sabella at the helm and feels a major title is just around the corner to i still have this dream and that is to be a world champion and lift the Copa America with the national side, Messi said in an interview with the Argentina Football Association and i know I'll do it, I am convinced I shall and we would love to win a title with the national team to i am just another one in the group who wants to do the best for Argentine football, nothing more.

A barcelona are the best team in the world result of years of hard work with the same team-mates to it is more difficult with the national side we have been through a lot of chopping and changing of coaches and we are growing and I know we are going to achieve a lot of a argentina to flopped at the Copa America on home soil in July and who are without a major title  to since 1993 are 6/1 with Sky Bet to lift the World Cup in 2014.

Phil Dowd to referee for FA Cup final Match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley

Phil Dowd referee has been chosen to officiate the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley and the 49-year-old has previously taken charge of the 2010 Carling Cup final and this season's Community Shield, and was fourth official at the 2006 FA Cup final to he is delighted to have been awarded the 5th May showpiece and will be fulfilling a dream by officiating the match was honoured and privileged when I found out Dowd told the FA's official website.

And they are would never have thought in my wildest dreams that when I first started refereeing in 1984 that one day I'd be refereeing the FA Cup final watching the final as a boy was something I always loved to do in the david elleray FA Referees Committee Chairman, said: "I would like to congratulate Phil and the team on their appointments for this year's FA Cup final, which is fully deserved.

A huge honour to be selected as a match official for what remains the world's most famous and best-loved cup competition and i am sure Phil and the others will be really looking forward to both the build-up to the final and walking out onto the Wembley pitch on 5 May for the dowd assistants for the final will be Stuart Burt and Andrew Garratt, Michael Jones is the fourth official and Simon Long is the reserve assistant referee and the liverpool booked their spot in the final by beating Merseyside rivals Everton 2-1 on Saturday to the following day Chelsea thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 5-1.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is not worried about Champions League final between Real Madrid Vs Barcelona.

A 61-year-old Spain coach Vicente del Bosque insists that he does not fear the repercussions of a continental final between the two clubs ahead of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine and the two primera division giants met each other in the semi-finals of the competition in 2010-11, with Barca coming out on top 3-1 on aggregate to the both legs of the tie saw emotions boil over to the Del Bosque is not worried that the same thing might happen again, ahead of Euro 2012.

We are must enjoy this moment, because there are five Spanish clubs in the semi-finals of European competitions and the national team has nothing to do with that he told reporters to we want a champions league final between Madrid and Barca to that will not damage the national team, because we know that some will win, and some will lose for the players are prepared for that.

And the world cup in 2010, we experienced the same problem with Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres to that we waited until the end with a certain feeling that they would be fit and we were right of a spain will take on italy, croatia and republic of ireland in the group stage at Euro 2012.

Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo says Losing is not in my vocabulary

He has highlighted the importance of Wednesday's 4-1 victory against atletico madrid at the vicente calderon, believing it was a vital step towards claiming the Primera Division title, and cristiano ronaldo added that 'losing is not in his vocabulary'.

A Portugal international grabbed his seventh hat-trick of the 2011-12 Liga season, before jose callejon helped to make the result even more expressive with a goal of his own for the radamel falcao had earlier drawn Atleti briefly level to the victory allowed real madrid to maintain the four-point gap between to Barcelona at the top of the table, and Ronaldo believes that his side have taken an important step towards winning the league.

And the ronaldo then expressed his happiness to have taken his league tally to 40 goals following Wednesday's hat-trick to i am very happy to have scored and picked up an assist," he noted to we have to continue like this."I am very happy, but without my team-mates I could not have done it was going to be a tough match, but we gave a good account of ourselves against a very strong Atletico side of a cristiano ronaldo has now scored 52 goals in all competitions following Wednesday's hat-trick, and became the 1st player to score 20 goals away from home in a single Liga season.

Barcelona Attacker Lionel Messi First Player in La Liga History

The Argentine forward has been in sublime form in the 2011-12 campaign, and broke yet another record after scoring in the Blaugrana's Primera Division win over Getafe and the barcelona attacker Lionel Messi has entered the record books again after becoming the 1st player in La Liga history to score 28 goals at home in one season following his strike in Tuesday evening 4-0 victory over Getafe at Camp Nou.

And the record was previously held by former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra and ex-Atletico Madrid star Baltazar, who both netted 27 goals in home league games in 1950-51 and 1988-89 respectively for the real madrid attacker cristiano ronaldo to set a new Pichichi record last term with 40 goals in one season, managed to score 26 times at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2010-11.

Lionel Messi has scored in all but two of barcelona's primera division games at camp nou this term to argentine was unable to find the net in the scoreless draw against Sevilla, and didn't feature in the 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon in the 24-year-old has netted 39 times in 31 appearances this season in La Liga, and needs only more goal in the remainder of the term to equal cristiano ronaldo's record of 40 goals in a single league campaign.

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli facing nine-match ban

The Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is set to receive a nine-match ban if he is charged by the Football Association for his tackle on Alex Song in Sunday's Premier League clash at Arsenal and he will automatically serve a one-match ban for the red card he was shown after being twice booked for challenges on Bacary Sagna.

And the football association disciplinary rules also state that "players dismissed having previously in the same season been sent off or suspended under the Standard Directions set out in Schedule A in these Regulations for an incident to suspended for one extra match for each such previous sending off or suspension in the addition to the automatic suspension applicable to the dismissal".

They are seen earlier this season, Vincent Kompany received a four-game ban after being dismissed against Manchester United in the FA Cup as it was his second red of the season to the same punishment was handed out to Balotelli too when his standard three-game ban for the stamp on Tottenham's Scott Parker was upped to four due to a previous red to the other bans he has had this term that will equal a total suspension of 14 matches over a 3rd of a season.