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Date: 27th May 2009
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome.
FC Barcelona: The magnificent Spanish champions, and the winners of the Copa del Rey (the Spanish Kings' Cup), Barcelona look to become only the fifth football cup in all of history to achieve the unique "treble", a feat already achieved by their opponents Manchester United, by winning the Champions League this season. Boasting a star-studded line-up, Barca are certainly up to the task f unseating defending champions Manchester United.
Road to the final: Barca finished on top of their group consisting of Sporting Lisbon, FC Basel and Shaktar Donetsk. They met Lyon in the round of 16 and trampled them 6-3. A similar demolition of German giants FC Bayern Munich ensued with a scoreline of 5-1 on aggregate. A tense second leg with Chelsea saw Barca smash in a late equaliser to make the final score 1-1 and advanced on the away goals rule.
Likely line-up: Barca have a depleted defensive line due to the injury to Rafael Marquez and the suspension of regular left back Eric Abidal and right back Daniel Alves, but have all the firepower they need up front. A lot hinges on the fitness of midfielder Andres Iniesta and striking legend Thierry Henry.
--------------------Valdes
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Puyol(C)
------Toure
--------Pique
-----Sylvinho
--------------------Busquets
-----------------
------------Xavi
--------------Iniesta
---------
Messi
-----------------------------------Henry
----------------------Eto'o
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Substitutes: Pinto, Caceres, Keita, Hleb, Sanchez, Bojan, Gudjohnsen.
Manchester United FC: The worthy English champions who had fended of Liverpool's title bid, meet Barcelona in a bid to become the first team to ever defend the Champions League trophy. Already the winners of the English League cup and the FIFA Club World cup, Manchester United are aiming to complete the double of the English title and the Champions League for the second consecutive year. Not lacking in any department, United look set to fend away Barca's challenge.
Road to the Final: Manchester United finished on top in a group consisting of Villarreal CF, Aalborg BK and Celtic FC, and met FC Internazionale Milano, the Italian champions in the round of 16. After a goalles first leg, Man Uts cruised to a 2-0 win to progress to the quarter-finals. They were pitted against Portuguese club FC Porto and managed to squeeze through with a 3-2 win on aggregate. Having reached the semi-finals, there was now no stopping Man Utd. who went on to comfortably beat Arsenal FC 4-1 and reached the final.
Likely line-up: Manchester United have no serious injury concerns other than the long term injury of midfielder Owen Hargreaves and the suspension of Darren Fletcher. However, their incredible depth more than makes up for the losses.
-------------------van der Sar
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O'Shea
-------Ferdinand(C)
--------Vidic
---------Evra
Park
-------------------Carrick
--------------Giggs
-------------Tevez
---------------Rooney
--------
-----------------------Ronaldo
------------------
Substitutes: Kuszczak, Evans, Neville, Brown, Anderson, Scholes, Berbatov.
I will be supporting Barcelona with all my heart! Vote for whoever you think will win, or hope will win!
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