Christian Van Slyke

Arsene Wenger's favorite word while describing any Arsenal performance is "spirit." Well, there was plenty of "spirit" among the Gunners in the dramatic 3-1 win over Norwich in the English Premier League which took them to third in the table, although aided by a couple of dodgy decisions.

There is not much time to rest on the laurels, though, as Arsenal face an extremely difficult test in the shape of Everton on Tuesday.

The Gunners can go four points clear of both Chelsea and Tottenham, if they take three points against the Toffees at the Emirates. Spurs, would of course have a game in hand, while Chelsea would have two. But then, as they say, points on the board is always better.

However, if Arsenal are to produce a win against Everton, they will have to play much better than they did against Norwich. Yes, there were enough chances created without having to score three goals in the final seven minutes, but at the end of the day, they were not put away.

Team News

Arsenal

FC Barcelona take on Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow looking to secure their place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the sixth season in succession. 

Team News

Barcelona

Barcelona may be without Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol for tomorrow’s crunch tie with PSG, but both Adriano and Pedro have shaken off injuries to be in contention for a place in the starting XI – even if they haven’t yet received medical clearance to return to action. 

Lionel Messi, according to the team’s website, is on the squad sheet for the team. That obviously means that the golden boy has been training and recuperating.

Victor Valdés may be leaving the club in the near future, and he was suspended for the past four La Liga matches but the Catalan will start between the sticks looking to replicate his impressive showing in the first-leg at the Parc des Princes. Valdés pulled off a number of good saves to keep the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier Pastore at bay, only to be denied a clean sheet thanks to a moment of madness from an assistant referee. 

Cristiano Ronaldo aims to polish off Galatasaray and ease Real Madrid into the Champions League semifinals, holding a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into tomorrow’s meeting in Istanbul.

Ronaldo leads Europe's top-tier competition with nine goals in nine outings. And with Galatasaray needing to score early and often, the prolific Portugal forward will likely enjoy ample chances to add to his tally.

"If we go with the ambition to score a goal, we will go through fine," he said.

Ronaldo opened last week's first leg with a delicate chip shot, and he needed just 45 minutes on Saturday to net his 46th goal this season in all competitions and set up another in Madrid's 5-1 rout of Levante in the Spanish league.

The last time Madrid lost by three goals or more in the Champions League was in 2008-09, when it fell 4-0 at Liverpool. Barring a similar upset by the hosts, nine-time champion Madrid is on course to reach its 24th semifinal.

Last year, the battle between Manchester United and Manchester City came right down to the wire, in 2012-13, United have run away and look nailed on to reclaim the Premier League crown. Sir Alex Ferguson's side are 15 points clear of their rivals in blue, who are more aware of the sides below them than the Red Devils above with Spurs just five adrift in third. Despite the gulf between the teams this season, City will have fond memories of their last trip to Old Trafford back in October 2011 when they annihilated United 6-1. Since then, the two sides have met on three occasions at City's Etihad Stadium and United have won two by a scoreline of 3-2, including the reverse fixture in December when Robin Van Persie memorably struck a 90th-minute free kick to win it.

Team News

Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo is almost a one man band at this stage, he's playing with one of the most talented group of players on the planet but like his fellow superhuman Lionel Messi, the team is nothing without him. (as similarly Barcelona are nothing without Messi) Ronaldo has netted 28 times in 28 league games this year and is currently top scorer in the Champions League with eight goals in eight games. The Portugese playmaker is exceptional, and with a support cast of Mesut Ozil, Ricardo Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, he has plenty of helping hands. Sergio Ramos and Pepe will be charged with stopping Didier Drogba and Yilmaz which might prove harder than expected but Jose Mourhino and Madrid will expect to leave the Bernabeu with a couple of goals for a cushion at the very least.