Andy Brassell joins host Kevin McCauley on this edition to Inside The Six to preview Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. You can find more of Andy’s work at ESPN Soccernet, Goal.com and every other week on BBC Five Live’s World Football Phone-in. We also highly recommend following Andy on twitter @AndyBrassell for more great analysis.

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And that will suit the club just fine.

Lyon was supposed to struggle to get out of a group that included Liverpool and Fiorentina, but did so with relative ease. Real Madrid was going to brush the French aside in the round of 16, but Lyon got through after two terrific performances. Standing in its way next was Bordeaux, defending Ligue 1 champion and the stingiest defensive team in the Champions League.

Lyon scored three goals at home in the first leg, and defended well enough in the return to make the semifinals.

The opponent is Bayern Munich, a team in great form. Bayern hammered Hannover, 7-0, over the weekend to retain its lead atop the Bundesliga. Arjen Robben – scorer of two terrific goals to knock out Fiorentina and Manchester United in the last two rounds – continued his marvelous recent run with a hat trick, and Franck Ribery was rested in the second half to be fresh for Lyon’s visit.

Lyon, meanwhile, played Bordeaux to a 2-2 draw in the teams’ third meeting in 19 days, and then bussed it back home after the game. Because of the continued inability to fly due to the volcano eruption in Iceland, Lyon hit the road again on its way to Munich, with a stopover in Stuttgart along the way.

As for on the field matters, central defenders Jean-Alain Boumsong and Mathieu Bodmer are both out with injury, leaving midfielder Jeremy Toulalan as the likely partner for Cris in the middle of Lyon’s back line. On top of that, forward Lisandro Lopez – who had two of those goals in the quarterfinal first leg against Bordeaux – is doubtful with an ankle injury.

Even taking all of this into account, it would be foolish to dismiss Lyon’s chances to progress to its first ever final in Europe’s top club competition.

Even without Lisandro, Lyon has the weapons up front to attack a Bayern defense that has looked shaky plenty of times this season. Bafetimbi Gomis isn’t always the most convincing striker, but Michel Bastos and Cesar Delgado have played well, and Ederson is finding some form, having scored against Bordeaux Saturday.

Lyon’s 4-2-3-1 set-up has the flexibility to attack Bayern’s back line in a variety of ways. And it’s a back four that won’t be at full strength due to fullback Holgder Badstuber’s suspension, with Diego Contento the likely replacement. Bayern’s bigger loss, though, is that of Mark von Bommel in central midfielder, leaving Louis van Gaal without his trusted enforcer in the middle of the pitch.

The biggest challenge for Lyon will how its fullbacks, Aly Cissokho on the left and Anthony Reveillere on the right, deal with Robben and Ribery, respectively. Robben’s menace on the wing will likely have the added effect of limiting Cissokho’s ability to join the attack.

In the middle, Ivica Olic is the kind of striker that can ask questions of a makeshift defense. Olic scored two huge goals in the quarterfinals against Manchester, both by hustling and harrying United into turnovers in its own box.

Hugo Lloris, one of the hottest keepers in Europe, will need to be on his game again.

All things considered, this one is a tough call. On the surface, Bayern should probably win. But Lyon has overcome bigger challenges than this.

Barcelona – looking to become the first team to repeat as champions in Europe’s top club competition since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 – is playing in its fourth semifinal in five seasons. Should the Catalans go on to win, it would be their third Champions League trophy in five years, having won it in 2006 and 2009 (along with their first title in 1992).

Inter, meanwhile, enter the semifinals having not won the competition since 1965, the golden days of the Helenio Herrera era. The nerazzurri haven’t reached a final since 1972, and more importantly, are looking to ultimately shake off the stigma of several recent disappointing European campaigns.

If any Inter can do that, it is this one.

Jose Mourinho has built a squad without any of the noticeable weaknesses past teams under Roberto Mancini had, and Inter is full of confidence. Last year’s team went out to Manchester United in the round of 16 because of a lack of creativity in midfield and limited options up front. Wesley Sneijder has more than taken care of the former, and Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito have brought plenty of firepower up top.

Add to that the signing of central defender Lucio, and it was clear in August that Inter had a squad capable of getting to the Champions League final.

All that stands in its way now is Barcelona, who traveled to Milan on two buses due to the recent Icelandic volcano eruption disturbing air travel across most of Europe. The team stayed in Cannes overnight Sunday before finishing the trip to Italy.

“It’s not what we would wish for but there are plenty of teams in the second or third division who do this all the time,” manager Pep Guardiola said on Barcelona’s website. “It’s no use feeling sorry for yourself.”

As for on-the-field matters, Inter’s prime objective will be to keep a clean sheet. Mourinho would love to take a 1-0 result and put the impetus on Barcelona, rather than his side, to have to score in the return leg next Wednesday at Camp Nou.

One way to effectively do this would be to take Xavi out of the game, as Espanyol did so effectively in Saturday’s Catalan derby, a 0-0 draw. Limiting Xavi’s ability to create forces Lionel Messi to drop deeper and deeper to receive the ball, allowing Inter’s midfielders to join its defenders in taking the Argentine star out of the game – another tactic Espanyol used brilliantly Saturday.

The wild card in this scenario is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned after two weeks out with a calf injury to play the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s game. Playing all 90 minutes seems unlikely, but the Swede gives Guardiola options if the first plan of attack doesn’t work, with his two second half goals against Arsenal three weeks ago a prime example.

In attack, Inter will hope Sneijder can combine with Eto’o, Milito and Goran Pandev to Barcelona’s defense. Inter struggled for goals in its most recent match, a 2-0 home win over Juventus. Juve was down to 10 men late in the first half, but it took a piece of individual brilliance from Maicon in the 75th minute to finally break a scoreless deadlock. Eto’o added Inter’s second in injury time.

Barcelona have kept three straight clean sheets since conceding early to Arsenal in the quarterfinal second leg, and if there’s one position where Barca may have a decided advantage, it’s at keeper. Julio Cesar has turned in a few dodgy performances of late for Inter, while Victor Valdes continues to be in the best form of his career.

Barcelona had the better of the teams’ two meetings in the group stage of this competition, outplaying Inter in a 0-0 draw at the San Siro and then taking a 2-0 win at Camp Nou. Mourinho admitted then and now that Barca was the better side then, but the Portuguese gaffer also says, correctly, that Inter is a different, better team now than it was several months ago.

After that 2-0 defeat, Mourinho said he would happily take a rematch in the semifinals. He got his wish, and two cracking games are sure to follow.

Of course, only four can. But the dream remains alive in eight cities across Europe; below, we take a look at how those dreams can become reality. We’ll start with the two games to be played Tuesday, followed by Wednesday’s matches (first leg results in parentheses).

Barcelona vs. Arsenal (2-2)

Why Barcelona can advance
The match is at the Camp Nou, where only two teams – Sevilla in the Copa del Rey and Rubin Kazan in the Champions League – have come away victorious in 22 competitive matches this season. No team has kept a clean sheet in any of those games, meaning Arsenal will likely have to score at least twice to advance.

The injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives manager Pep Guardiola more diverse tactical options. Whether Thierry Henry to Bojan Krkic – scorer of two goals in Saturday’s 4-1 league win over Athletic Bilbao – take Ibrahimovic’s spot in the starting XI, expect Lionel Messi to play a more central role in Barcelona’s attack. There, he can use his speed to take on Thomas Vermaelen and likely central defense partner Sol Campbell, or draw those defenders away from goal to open up space for teammates.

Barcelona wins by dominating possession in midfield, and with Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song out injured for Arsenal, the Catalans’ advantage in that area of the pitch becomes that much more apparent. With the playmaking ability of Xavi and ball-winning ability of Sergio Busquets, Barca’s midfield unit has to be considered the better of the two, and Andres Iniesta returned to training for the first time in 10 days Monday.

Eric Abidal’s return at left back – he played the full 90 minutes there against Athletic – is a marked improvement from Maxwell to cope with Arsenal’s pace on the flanks.

Why Arsenal can advance
The Gunners have to figure they will get their share of chances against a depleted Barcelona defense. With Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique both suspended for the match, Gabi Milito figures to be joined by either Rafael Marquez or Yaya Toure in central defense. Nicklas Bendtner, with his combination of power and pace, is exactly the kind of striker that can give that back line problems.

Samir Nasri is a player very much in form for Arsenal, and his presence can neutralize the attacking potency of Barcelona’s fullbacks. Maxwell and Dani Alves were given free reign to go forward at will in the first leg, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wagner will no doubt make a tactical adjustment to avoid a repeat of that.

While Arsenal is also shorthanded, it has quality to call on form its reinforcements. The players most likely to fill holes created by injury – Campbell, Denilson, Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Eboue – are good players that have played in big matches before.

Beyond tactics and personnel, Arsenal has had that “team of destiny” feel to it lately. It fought back from a two-goal deficit in the first leg after all had seemed lost, and a Bendtner goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over a spirited Wolverhampton side Saturday in injury time to keep the club’s Premier League aspirations alive.

CSKA Moscow vs. Inter Milan (Inter leads, 1-0)

Why CSKA can advance
The Russians will certainly feel it within their grasp to overcome a one-goal deficit on their home pitch after a decent showing at the San Siro last Wednesday. Keeper Igor Akinfeev had a great game and the CSKA defense may not be facing a complete Inter attack, as Wesley Sneijder will be a game-time decision after injuring his ankle in Monday’s training session.

Sneijder is the catalyst for Inter and his injury could be a break for a CSKA side that likely needs to keep a clean sheet to have a chance of advancing.

Leonid Slutsky’s side has been in tougher spots than this in this year’s Champions League. It won 2-1 at Besiktas on the final day of group stage play to advance, and then went to Sevilla and took a 2-1 victory to get to the quarterfinals. This time, CSKA has its opponent at home on the turf pitch at Luzhniki Stadium.

Why Inter can advance
Manager Jose Mourinho knows a goal in Moscow will almost certainly be enough to guarantee passage to the semifinals. With or without Sneijder, there is enough talent in the side to get that goal.

Inter have the momentum of Saturday’s 3-0 Serie A win over Bologna to halt what had been a slump in form domestically. Mario Balotelli scored the second of those goals, and the young Italian offers another weapon off the bench should Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito or Goran Pandev be found lacking Tuesday.

Of course, if Inter doesn’t concede a goal, it won’t matter whether they score one. Mourinho’s side will come to defend every bit as much as it will to attack, and it will do so against a depleted CSKA team, as midfielders Milos Krasic and Evgeni Aldonin are suspended after picking up yellow cards in the first leg.

Girondins Bordeaux vs. Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon leads, 3-1)

Why Bordeaux can advance
To take nothing away from Lyon, all three of its goals in the first leg stemmed from defensive errors by Bordeaux, and Laurent Blanc will be confident that won’t repeat itself. And with Lisandro Lopez – scorer of two of those three goals – suspended for the match, there will be less for the Bordeaux back line to contend with.

Bordeaux isn’t known for its attacking, which it will have to do to overcome a two-goal deficit. But Marouane Chamakh is a constant threat, as he showed in the first leg, scoring a goal and bringing two great saves out of Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris. With Yoann Gourcuff pulling the strings in the middle of the pitch and the dangerous Wendel and Yoann Gouffran on the flanks, there is enough ability to score goals.

Bordeaux will also welcome back midfielder Alou Diarra after he missed the first leg through suspension.

Why Lyon can advance
Quite simply, these are two teams going in two different directions. Lyon is one of the hottest teams in Europe, stemming from its upset of Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 to Saturday’s 2-1 win at Stade Rennes to vault itself to the top of the Ligue 1 table. Lyon has lost just one of its last 13 matches in all competitions.

Bordeaux, meanwhile, has won just twice in its last eight games, including Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to AS Nancy Lorraine.

Lopez may be out of the reckoning for Claude Puel, but Michel Bastos is capable of picking up the slack, having scored six goals in his last six appearances (including Lyon’s second in the first leg win). Lyon also saw the return of central defender Jean-Alain Boumsong Saturday.

Lyon has gotten the results it has needed throughout the competition, with Puel proving to be a shrewd tactician who can conjure up a winning game plan against a variety of opponents. Considering his familiarity with Bordeaux, Lyon supporters will believe he can do it again.

Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich (Bayern leads, 2-1)

Why United can advance
Old Trafford provides one of the biggest homefield advantages in Europe, and a less than fully fit Bayern will have to overcome that to hold onto its slim, albeit deserved, first leg advantage. United isn’t exactly a picture of good health at the moment, either, but the club has thrived on situations like this before.

Whether Wayne Rooney plays or not – United’s medical staff said Monday he has a “40 percent” chance of returning for Wednesday’s match – Sir Alex Ferguson will have faith in his players to score. Antonio Valencia, Saturday’s game against Chelsea notwithstanding, is having a fine season. Nani will be fresh after starting the Chelsea match on the bench, and Dimitar Berbatov is due to score a meaningful goal at some point (isn’t he?).

Bayern has questions of its own in defense, with Daniel van Buyten coming off after just 22 minutes of Saturday’s big 2-1 win at Schalke with a knee injury. And with the unpredictable Martin Demichelis in the running, anything is possible.

And on top of all that, United will have something to prove after its loss at home to Chelsea Saturday.

Why Bayern can advance
The fact that Rooney is being discussed at all as an option for Wednesday can be taken one of two ways. It could be a morale boost for a team that probably needs one. Or, it shows just how desperate the team has become. And even if Rooney does play just one week after an ankle injury that was supposed to keep him out for three, how much can he realistically give them?

One man that is returning with a slightly cleaner bill of health is Arjen Robben, who didn’t factor in Bayern’s 2-1 first leg victory. Louis van Gaal will also have Bastian Schweinsteiger at his disposal after the was suspended for last week’s match. That gives Bayern two more weapons against United defense that has looked slow, sloppy and disorganized lately.

Bayern is also very much the team on form after the weekend’s domestic results. Both teams played matches involving the top two teams in their respective leagues; United lost at home, Bayern won on the road. If that’s anything to go by, the Germans have the momentum to go into Manchester and get the draw they need to move on in the competition.

Not all score draws, however, are created equally.

If a team can carry momentum from one leg of a European tie to the second, Arsenal will have it after battling back from 2-0 second half deficit for the 2-2 result.

How Barcelona didn’t score in the first half remains a mystery, as only Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia and some occasionally poor finishing kept the Catalans off the board in the first 45 minutes. Barcelona made up for it in the first 15 minutes of the second half with two un-Barca like goals – long balls up the center of the pitch to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who lobbed Almunia for the first and fired a rocket past him for the second.

With Ibrahimovic seemingly redeemed – he probably should have scored at least twice in the first half, too – Barcelona was cruising to victory.

And then Theo Walcott came on.

Maxwell, Barcelona’s left back, had been playing a terrific game in the first hour, providing width to his team’s attack and getting in some dangerous crosses. But when forced to defend against Walcott’s pace, the Brazilian left plenty to be desired, as he was left in the dust on Walcott’s goal in the 69th minute.

Barcelona seemed nervy after that goal, and Arsenal made them play when Cesc Fabregas drew a penalty – and red card – from Carles Puyol. Fabregas converted it, breaking his fibula in the process. The Gunners’ skipper is out for the rest of the season, but not before leading his team to an inspired comeback at the Emirates.

Both clubs have some personnel issues to sort out for Tuesday’s second leg at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona is without its two center backs, Puyol and Pique, with the latter picking up a yellow card Wednesday night that earned him a suspension. Gabi Milito, who put in a good display at Mallorca last weekend, is sure to take one of those spots. Does Pep Guardiola give the start to Rafa Marquez, who has had so many uneven performances this season? The only other option is Toure Yaya, who played well there against Chelsea and Manchester United in last season’s semifinal second leg and final, respectively.

Guardiola will also hope to have Andres Iniesta and Eric Abidal fit, with the latter needed to try and contain Walcott, if Arsene Wenger goes that route to replace the injured Andrei Arshavin.

And that’s not the only decision Wenger has to make, either. William Gallas went down 40 minutes in Wednesday with a calf injury that has dogged him the last couple months, and appears likely to keep him out the rest of this season. Will Wenger go with Alex Song – depleting his midfield in the process – or the veteran, Sol Campbell?

Samir Nasri – who was excellent Wednesday – could drop back into Fabregas’ spot in midfield, or Tomas Rosicky could get the call. And does Walcott start in Barcelona, or is he saved as an impact sub?

There are so many questions, and a cracking game surely to come. Tuesday could not come fast enough.

A few thoughts on the other matches
Inter Milan 1-0 CSKA Moscow – This was a typical Jose Mourinho European performance – play well enough to win, keep a clean sheet at home, put yourself in a position where one goal on the road gets you into the next round.

Diego Milito finally broke through for Inter in the 65th minute, but Igor Akinfeev otherwise kept the nerazzauri at bay with several fine saves. CSKA had a few decent chances in the second half, but never put Julio Cesar under any real duress.

A draw would have made things interesting heading into Tuesday’s second leg in Moscow, but you have to figure Inter as the favorites to get through to the semifinals.

Lyon 3-1 Bordeaux – Surprisingly, this was one of the more entertaining matches of the entire tournament.

The first half resembled a Premier League-type match – up, down, up, down, at a frantic pace. A couple uncharacteristic mistakes in the Bordeaux end gave Lyon a 2-1 halftime lead, and Lisandro Lopez added to that with a penalty in the second half.

Bordeaux has a task at hand in Wednesday’s match at home, but it will be confident for two reasons: 1) its defending can’t possibly be worse, and 2) Lopez is suspended after picking up a yellow card late in the game. He and his Bordeaux counterpart, Marouane Chamakh, were both terrific in Tuesday’s first leg. Chamakh could be the difference for Bordeaux, who will also have Alou Diarra returning from suspension to help solidify the middle of the pitch.

Bayern Munich 2-1 Manchester United – United’s European philosophy of conceding one fewer, rather than scoring one more, came back to haunt the team Tuesday.

Wayne Rooney scored less than two minutes in, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s men became complacent as the match wore on, and Bayern eventually took advantage. Franck Ribery’s free kick deflected off Rooney was a bit of a fluke, but a deserved goal, given how the Germans had dominated the prior 20 minutes. And full credit to Ivica Olic, pouncing on some lazy ball control in the United box by Patrice Evra and putting a good finish past Edwin van der Sar, giving Bayern a vital advantage going into Wednesday’s second leg at Old Trafford.

United will be without Rooney, but there’s more than enough quality in the squad to find a way to score. The question is, will United’s defense shape up against an attack that figures to see the return of Arjen Robben. A good place for Ferguson to start would be to bench Gary Neville, whom Ribery simply owned for 90 minutes.

Bayern will go to Manchester believing it can nick a goal and get to the semifinals.

The return legs are April 6.

Below is a preview of the action, starting with the match in Germany.

Bayern Munich-Manchester United (Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. EST)

A lot of talk surrounding these matches concerns personnel and tactics, and the match in Munich today is no different.

Winger Arjen Robben – the catalyst behind Bayern’s turnaround this season – is likely out today with a calf injury picked up in the weekend’s 2-1 home loss to Stuttgart. It’s a tough blow for manager Louis Van Gaal, who, with Franck Ribery getting back to fitness with two substitute appearances in the last two matches, was hoping to have both of his biggest stars available to get at United down the wings.

Van Gaal started Danijel Pranjic and Thomas Muller, a natural striker, on the flanks against Stuttgart. Ribery is likely to take one of their places, with Ivica Olic and Miroslav Klose getting the nod up front. United will hope to keep Ribery out of the game to help nullify a Bayern attack that is also without the suspended Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Bavarians’ more creative central midfielder alongside the combative Mark Van Bommel.

Bayern may have Martin Demichelis start in central defense, with the Argentine getting a brief cameo against Stuttgart after missing several games with a serious facial injury. Is that enough, though, to stop a United attack that is in fine form?

Sir Alex Ferguson will hope not, particularly with a rested Wayne Rooney ready to lead the line. Rooney wasn’t in the squad for United’s match at Bolton Saturday, and the visitors still came away with a 4-0 win, a testament to the fact that United is not a one-man team. Dimitar Berbatov scored a second half brace to continue his recent run of goals, and Antonio Valencia and Nani have been a lot for opponents to handle on the outside.

Whomever Ferguson opts for in central midfield – Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs being the options – will look to provide balance and expose a Bayern defense that has looked leaky at times lately, particularly in its last Champions League match at Fiorentina.

Bayern will need to win this game to have hope of progressing to the semifinals. Without Robben – or even with a less than fit Robben - that looks to be a difficult task.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 1-2 Manchester United

Lyon-Bordeaux (Tuesday)

The scheduling deities were much kinder to Lyon, as its home match Saturday against Grenoble – Ligue 1’s bottom team – allowed manager Claude Puel to rest a few key players ahead of today’s quarterfinal against domestic rival Bordeaux.

Lisandro Lopez and Miralem Pjanic – scorer of the goal that eliminated Real Madrid in the round of 16 – both came off the bench Saturday. Kim Kallstrom and Sidney Govou didn’t play.

Bordeaux, meanwhile, fielded a mostly full-strength squad (minus keeper Cedrid Carrasso) in Saturday’s League Cup final. Marseille won it, 3-1, and now Laurent Blanc has to find a way to get his team over that disappointment.

Bordeaux has shown an ability to grind out results on the road this season, both domestically and in Europe. It won 1-0 at Olympiacos in the round of 16 first leg, thanks to a Bordeaux specialty – a set piece goal, with Michael Ciani scoring off a free kick. Otherwise, the match wasn’t exactly a spectacle, and that’s how Blanc wants to keep it.

Bordeaux won 1-0 at Lyon in December, but Puel’s team is a different one now, with the upset over Madrid in the last round giving it plenty of confidence. In Lopez, Pjanic and Govou, he has the players to unlock a pragmatic Bordeaux, who are without midfield enforcer Alou Diarra, who is suspended for the match.

Lyon is without the injured Jean-Alain Boumsong, leaving Puel to call on Kallstrom, Jeremy Toulalan or Mathieu Bodmer – who started in the back line against Grenoble – to pair up with Cris in central defense.

Lyon will want to make the most of its home match, particularly with four key players – Lopez, Govou, Cris and Pjanic – all one booking away from missing their next European match.

Expect a tense encounter with not a lot of goals in it.

Prediction: Lyon 1-0 Bordeaux

It didn’t disappoint, either, giving fans some interesting match-ups.

The tie drawing the most attention is Barcelona-Arsenal, but the others – Manchester United-Bayern Munich, Lyon-Bordeaux and Inter Milan-CKSA Moscow – offer plenty in their own right.

But we’ll start with Barcelona and Arsenal, a rematch of the 2006 final in Paris. The names are quite different – at most, seven of the 22 starters from the final four years ago will see playing time in these matches. One of them would be doing so for another team – Thierry Henry.

Henry has said ever since transferring to Barca how difficult it would be for him to face his former team. With the Frenchman regaining some of his form over the last two weeks, he figures to play some role in the tie.

The match-up offers two teams that play similar, possession-minded styles, and Arsenal’s ability to continue doing that will go a long way in determining who goes to the semifinals. As Stuttgart showed in the first leg of its round of 16 tie, and as Valencia re-affirmed last weekend, teams that keep the ball and go at Barcelona can cause trouble. Stuttgart led at halftime of that match, and Valencia were a bit unlucky to not be in the same position.

Conversely, will Arsenal be able to handle Barcelona’s pressing game? Most Premier League teams will sit back and soak up the pressure against Arsenal, but Barca stops at nothing to get the ball back when it does lose it. How Arsenal’s back line – which may include Sol Campbell, if William Gallas doesn’t come back from a nagging calf injury – copes with that pressure from Lionel Messi, Pedro, Andres Iniesta, et al, is another major factor.

All told, it figures to be the most exciting tie of the round, with the winner advancing to take on either Inter or CSKA Moscow.

Fixtures: Arsenal-Barcelona, March 31; Barcelona-Arsenal, April 6.

Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich
Predictably, the English press is already saying how easy United have it in this draw.

While avoiding Barcelona, Arsenal and Inter will certainly delight Sir Alex Ferguson, he’ll know he still has a challenge on his hands with Bayern.

Even if towering striker Mario Gomez doesn’t recover from the calf injury suffered March 10 against Fiorentina, the Bavarians boast a very attacking lineup, starting with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery on the wings. Robben has been at the heart of Bayern’s recent surge to the top of the Bundesliga standings, and scored one of the best goals of the Champions League so far to put his team through against Fiorentina.

Ribery is once again bothered by a persistent ankle injury, but if he’s able to go against United and link up with a strike partnership of Miroslav Klose and Ivica Olic (if Gomez can’t go), there’s plenty to worry about for a United back four that hasn’t always been as tight this season as in years past.

The first leg of the tie is in Germany, and Bayern will probably need to win that match to have a chance of advancing. In order to do that, it will need to find a way to stifle a United attack that is more than just Wayne Rooney (yes, it’s true).

Rooney has been in terrific form lately, and has racked up 32 goals in 36 competitive matches for United this season. He’s scored in every which way this season, but much has been made recently of his aerial prowess to head in goals.

Well, those crosses don’t come out of nowhere. Antonio Valencia has been awfully good lately, and the re-emergence of Nani has given United’s attack some needed width. Even Dimitar Berbatov has looked useful lately.

With Martin Demichelis out, the central defense partnership of Daniel van Buyten and Holger Badstuber will have to do a lot better than it did in the second leg against Fiorentina to keep United within distance.

Fixtures: Bayern-United, March 30; United-Bayern, April 7

Bordeaux vs. Lyon
If nothing else, a French side will qualify for the semifinals of this competition for the first time since Monaco’s run to the final in 2004.

That was the bright side being presented by officials of both clubs after Friday’s draw.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud told Eurosport. “But we have to take what we take and we just have to get on with it and deal with it. It’s going to be a great night and means there will be a French team in the semi-finals and that’s something for French football to celebrate.”

Said Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, “We did think it could happen, we were hoping it wouldn’t. Now we have to hope we qualify but we are going to see a French team in the semifinals, and let’s hope we see one in the final.”

In the clubs’ only meeting this season, Bordeaux scored a 1-0 road win at Stade Gerland on Dec. 13. But this is a different Lyon team, one that hasn’t lost in the league since a 2-1 home defeat to Montpellier two days before Christmas. Lyon is fifth in the league, but just two points behind the leaders, Bordeaux.

Lyon wasn’t even supposed to be here after drawing Real Madrid in the round of 16, but two inspired performances earned the club the upset victory. The Lyon teams of recent years may have been better overall, but this could be its best chance for the Champions League semifinals.

Fixtures: Lyon-Bordeaux, March 30; Bordeaux-Lyon, April 7.

Inter Milan vs. CKSA Moscow
The Russians are the party crashers of the tournament. Few would have expected CSKA to get out of a group that included Manchester United and Wolfsburg, much less knock out a Sevilla team that has beaten Barcelona and Real Madrid this season.

Done, and done.

But Inter is no Sevilla or Wolfsburg.

After beating Chelsea in both legs last round, Inter is now the chic pick to advance to the final for two main reasons: Wesley Sneijder’s brilliance on the pitch and Jose Mourinho’s genius off it.

Both were on full display at Stamford Bridge Tuesday. Mourinho surprised many with a 4-3-3 formation, but Sneijder made it work by pulling the strings in the middle, eventually unlocking Chelsea’s defense to find Samuel Eto’o for the tie-clinching goal 12 minutes from time.

In defense, Lucio and Walter Samuel did a number on Didier Drogba (sometimes by questionable means), and Tomas Necid certainly doesn’t come up to Drogba’s level. CSKA is here in part thanks to a pair of long-range goals from midfielders Mark Gonzalez and Keisuke Honda against Sevilla – it may need similar efforts to pull off an even bigger upset.

Fixtures: Inter-CSKA, March 31; CSKA-Inter, April 6

While the results have been there all year – Barca is on track for a staggering 95 points in La Liga – the “champagne football” that characterized the club last season has come and gone this term.

It was back on full display in Wednesday’s 4-0 hammering at Stuttgart at Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi again running the show.

With Pep Guardiola electing to start with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench, Messi found himself more in the middle of Barcelona’s attacking trident, with Thierry Henry and Pedro on the wings. The result was two more wonderful goals to run his season total to 31 and a sublime pass to set up another.

It was that goal, Barca’s second, that best displayed the Catalans’ technical and tactical superiority. Toure Yaya, starting for the injured Xavi and playing in a more advanced position in midfield (with Sergio Busquets acting as holding midfielder), raced into the left side of Stuttgart’s penalty area. Messi lofted the ball over Toure’s mark and right onto this feet, and the Ivorian crossed it to Pedro in the middle for the one-time finish.

At times, it was as easy as that.

Ibrahimovic came off the bench in the second half and played well, setting up fellow substitute Bojan’s late strike that made it 4-0.

Henry is seemingly back in the fold and playing well – his interplay with Messi in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Valencia made the difference). If Barcelona can get its big Swede back in top form, it doesn’t bode well for future opponents.

But, this European campaign has shown anything can happen, and Barcelona is hardly the only team involved that’s playing well at the moment.

Bordeaux 2-1 Olympiacos

Another is the Ligue 1 leaders, Girondins Bordeaux.

Many expected the French side to cruise to the quarterfinals after a 1-0 victory in Greece in the first leg. But Bordeaux had to tough it out, with only a Marouane Chamakh goal in the 88th minute finally sealing the tie. Both teams played down the stretch with 10 men after Olympiacos striker Matt Derbyshire and Bordeaux midfielder Alou Diarra were sent off.

Laurent Blanc’s team has proved its mettle in this competition, easily topping a group with Bayern Munich and Juventus, and winning at Olypiacos – no small task. If Yoann Gourcuff really is back on the form he showed for most of last year, Bordeaux has the class to beat anyone left in the tournament.

Bordeaux joins Lyon in the quarterfinals, only the second time since the Champions League’s revamped format took effect in 1992 that two French sides have advanced to this stage (the first coming in 2004 with Lyon and eventual finalist Monaco). Talk has surfaced about a renaissance of French football, but Blanc was cautious to go that route after Wednesday’s victory.

“You can think that because of the teams now qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals, and those doing well in the Europa League, that this proves that French soccer is in good shape,” Blanc said. “But to confirm this we will have to see how this develops over time to see if this can happen again, and to see how regularly French teams get through to the quarterfinals.”

Regardless, France joins England (Manchester United, Arsenal) as the only nation with two clubs still left in the Champions League.

And now comes Friday’s draw for the quarterfinals with Barcelona, United, Arsenal, Bordeaux, Lyon, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow in the fold. It is an open draw – teams from the same league can be paired against one another. On the surface, CSKA appears to be the “easy draw” – but try telling that to Sevilla.

Check back at World Soccer Reader Friday afternoon for analysis of the draw.

There are two months between the draw and the first legs, and a lot of things can change. What looks like a walk for Team X in December could prove to be a challenge in February, and Team Y’s seemingly tough draw with Team Z can turn out to be simpler than originally thought.

Today’s first legs – Bayern Munich-Fiorentina and Porto-Arsenal – can each fall into one of those categories.

The return matches will be played Tuesday, March 9.

Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina
This figured to be one of the more intriguing, evenly matched ties when the draw was made two months ago.

Bayern was just starting to round into form in the Bundlesliga, and were coming off a dominant 4-1 win at Juventus in group stage play to qualify for the round of 16. Fiorentina was right in the hunt for a top-four spot in Serie A and topped a Champions League group that featured Lyon and Liverpool.

And while this may still prove to be a close encounter – as yesterday’s result in Stade de Gerland shows, anything can happen – Bayern are now unquestionable favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.

Since drawing at home to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen Nov. 22, the Bavarians have won nine league games on the trot to tie Bayer atop the table. And many of those games haven’t been close. Louis van Gaal was drawing criticism earlier in the year for keeping the shackles on his attacking personalities, but any such talk has been quashed, as Bayern have scored 29 goals in those nine matches.

Mario Gomez has largely proven to be worth the near-30 million euros it took to sign him from Stuttgart, scoring 10 goals in 22 Bundesliga matches this season and adding a critical insurance goal in the Juventus win. Surround the towering Gomez with the very much in-form Arjen Robben and a now healthy Franck Ribery, and Bayern boasts one of the finest attacks in Europe.

And that’s before we even get to two more talented forwards in Ivica Olic and Thomas Muller, scorers of seven and six goals, respectively, in the Bundesliga to date.

The attack is supplemented by a strong spine down the middle of the field, with Mark von Bommel making a nuisance of himself in midfield in front of central defenders Daniel van Buyten and Martin Demichelis. The keeper, Hans-Jorg Butt, is in the midst of a very good season that could very well earn him the role of Germany’s No. 1 keeper in South Africa this summer.

So, what can Fiorentina do to combat all of these weapons?

It could start by arresting its recent form. The Viola has slipped to 11th in the Serie A table, having taken just one point from its last five matches. And as if that weren’t bad enough, first-choice defender Alessandro Gamberini is out until May after injuring his shoulder in a 2-0 loss at Sampdoria Saturday.

Fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli is hoping for a decent result today to help turn things around.

“It’s not the right time to focus on our poor recent results in Serie A,” Prandelli told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve received a lot of positive signals from the players, and, who knows, perhaps the game against Bayern will be the turning point.”

It will be up to center forward Alberto Gilardino to help make this happen. The big man up front has scored nine goals in Serie A this season, but he will be without the service of midfielder Mario Santana, who was also injured early in the Sampdoria match.

Fiorentina is a team in poor form and battling injuries. Bayern is almost fully healthy and playing outstanding football. It doesn’t look good for the Italians.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-1 Fiorentina

Porto v. Arsenal
Arsenal was already looking a little ropey for this one based on its recent results in big matches – a 3-1 home loss to Manchester United, a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea, and an unconvincing 1-0 home win over Liverpool last Wednesday.

And then came the news earlier this week that forwards Andrei Arshavin and Eduardo, midfielder Alex Song, defender William Gallas and keeper Manuel Almunia are all out for today’s game. Add in striker Robin van Persie – who’s out with a long-term ankle injury – and that’s quite a loss of talent for Arsene Wenger to call on.

There’s still a lot of talent left, as Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott and Denilson could all step in to help fill those holes. But so, too, could Sol Campbell in place of Gallas, which could create some trouble when going up against Porto’s talented striker, Falcao.

Of course, Porto still has to deal with Cesc Fabregas, something that team captain and defender Bruno Alves is more than aware of.

“Fabregas is the most important player in Arsenal’s attacking play,” Alves told UEFA.com. “He organizes the game and we have to be prepared for him.”

Jesualdo Ferreira confirmed Tuesday he will have Raul Meireles available in his midfield in an attempt to control Fabregas. Meireles hasn’t played in a month, but provides the type of presence necessary to go up against Arsenal’s possession game.

Porto has won three and drawn two since the holiday break. The three-time defending Portuguese Liga champion is currently nine points behind Benfica, and may have been looking past its opponent at the weekend, Leioxes. On the road against a team in 15th place (out of 16 teams), Porto was held to a 0-0 draw.

Porto will certainly be up for this one. It’s proven as recently as last year it can hang with England’s best teams, having played Manchester United to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in the Champions League quarterfinals first leg (with United going through after a 1-0 win in the return at Portugal).

Expect a result that will leave it all to play for at the Emirates next month.

Prediction: Porto 2-1 Arsenal

Coming up tomorrow, my friend and this show’s former host Richard Farley chats about Mexican football.

Note:  I had (very long) extra conversations with both Kartik and Richard after recording the shows.  Those extra conversations will be released as Inside the Six extras later in the week, just like the Dynamo show.  If a decision comes down from the British courts on Portsmouth, Kartik and I will probably discuss that and record it as well.

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