English trio sweating on Euro draw

THE three English clubs remaining in the Champions League will be holding their breath when Gary Lineker makes the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals this morning.

The 11am draw is neither seed nor country sensitive, meaning Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham could all face each other, or come up against Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Two of Lineker’s former clubs are in the last eight — Spurs, at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1962, and Barcelona, who are the bookies’ favourites. Barca have already knocked out Arsenal but Wayne Rooney insists they hold no fear for Manchester United, who were beaten by the Catalan side in the 2009.

“We will be confident we can win, whoever we get in the next round,” said the England striker. “If you are going to win this tournament you have to play anyone — and beat them.”

Holders Inter Milan also represent a strong threat after their last-gasp elimination of Bayern Munich, while Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time, have shown against Arsenal and Roma this season that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Schalke are the rank outsiders, at least in terms of the bookmakers, and they sacked manager Felix Magath yesterday after a disappointing first half of the Bundesliga season which sees them in 10th position. The quarter-final ties will be played on April 5-6 and 12-13.

The semi-final pairings will also be drawn today with the matches on April 26-27 and May 3-4. The draw for the Europa League quarter-finals and semi-finals will also take place.

It too will be open and unseeded meaning that any of Manchester City, Liverpool and Rangers can play each other if they qualify. The Europa League final takes place at the Aviva Stadium on May 18.