Poppa's Picks: Champions League Edition

Today's Games

Porto X Arsenal 2:45PM ET
Porto head to London up 2-1 on aggregate after a favorable 1st leg.  However the Dragons are struggling, tying their last fixture against Olhanense and dropping a goose egg in a 3-0 loss to Sporting.  Arsenal are in much better form, but they'll miss Cesc Fabregas and Aaron Ramsey along with the players that were out last leg ( RvP, Gallas).  Porto has never won in London, losing 6 times there, including a loss earlier this Champs League season at Stamford Bridge.  Everything seems to favor Arsenal which is why I'm taking Porto today to leave England with a 1-1 tie.  Goal from Falcao, and watch out for little Arshavin.

Bayern Munich X Fiorentina 2:45PM ET
The Germans will be in Florence today after tying 1-1 to a Koln goal by former Bayern forward Lukas Podolski.  Fiorentina on the otherhand just lost a heart breaker 2-1 to Juventus.  Bayern have done very well in Italy as of late, their last result a 4-1 defeat of Juventus last season.  They also tied Fiorentina 1-1 last year in Florence in the group stage.  Not to mention the Germans have 7 wins and 3 draws in their last 13 away fixtures.  I say they hang on 1-1 in Italy, with goals from van Bommel and Gilardino.

Wednesday's Games

Real Madrid X Lyon - Wednesday 2:45PM ET
No away goals for Madrid means they need to score early and often to assure their spot in the next round.  They are definitely capable of putting away 3 or 4, as we saw this past weekend in a thrilling 3-2 win against Sevilla.  But don't underestimate this Lyon squad with the likes of Michel Bastos and Bamatimbe Gomis exploding off the bench.  I believe Real Madrid will win 2-1, but lose in aggregate due to a sneaky goal from the French side.  Scorers: Higuain, Kaka, Lisandro Lopez.

Manchester United X AC Milan - Wednesday 2:45PM ET
All eyes will be on the return leg at Old Trafford.  Will Beckham get the start?  Can Rooney keep scoring?  Will Clarence Seedorf lead another Champions League title run??  Sorry, but no.  Manchester have been solid at home this season as usual.  With a 3-2 lead going into the match, I am going to tip my hat to Sir Alex and take Manchester to hold strong.  However they will lose 2-1 at the hands of Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva goals.  Rio Ferdinand will put one in for the homeside to clinch a spot in the next round.