With defending titlist AC Milan, short on confidence as well as points, struggling to gain the quarterfinal, the Barcelona-United battle before some 110,000 fans at Camp Nou is the biggest game of the 16-team tournament.
IFK Goteborg looks confident of gaining one of the quarterfinal places from the same group, so it is almost as if the final has come six months early.
"If we lose Wednesday it will be disastrous," said Barcelona team captain Jose Maria Bakero.
A loss would not be quite so bad for United, which is a point ahead but plays without suspended French striker Eric Cantona. He will return for the next game against Goteborg.
While a tie would satisfy United, the Spaniards really need a victory and coach Johann Cruyff hopes his foreign stars, Brazil's Romario, Dutchman Ronald Koeman and Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov, can regain the form that seems to have deserted them at home.
Barcelona is a point behind United and Goteborg in the Group A standings. With the Swedes confident of a victory at winless Turkish club Galatasaray, the Spaniards badly need to beat United to stay in contention.
Milan knows, too, that it is running out of games. After its meeting with AEK Athens Wednesday, there are only two left in which it can make up the two points UEFA took away as punishment for fan misbehavior in the game against Casino Salzburg a month ago. The loss of those two points put Milan last in the Group D standings, four points behind group leader Ajax Amsterdam and one behind AEK and Salzburg.
The Italian champion also is hampered by having to play its two remaining home games some 400 kilometers from its San Siro stadium. That was another punishment handed out by UEFA over the San Siro incident in which a fan hurled a bottle, hitting Salzburg goalkeeper Otto Konrad. Milan's fans go instead to 30,000-capacity Trieste, close to the border with Slovenia.
With two teams qualifying from each group, Ajax is in a strong position to clinch a quarterfinal place. The full-strength Dutch champion hosts a Salzburg team that has not scored in its three Champions League games.
French titlist Paris Saint Germain, the Group B leader with maximum points from three games, also can secure a place in the last eight by beating Dinamo Kiev at home. In the other Group B game, second place Bayern Munich hosts winless Spartak Moscow.
Benfica and Hajduk Split are almost certain to qualify from Group C although both are on the road Wednesday. The Portuguese titlist visits 1986 Champions Cup winner Steaua Bucharest, and the Croatian side travels to Anderlecht Belgium.
n
Former Argentine World Cup star Osvaldo Ardiles was fired Tuesday as manager of Tottenham.
Despite Saturday's 3-1 victory over West Ham, Tottenham owner Alan Sugar made the move because of a series of poor recent performances. They included elimination from the League Cup by Notts County, which places last in the division below yet beat mighty Spurs 3-0.
Ardiles was summoned to Sugar's home Monday night and told the news.
"The decision to let Ossie go has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make in my life," Sugar said Tuesday.
After the loss to County, angry Spurs fans banged their fists on the team bus as it left the stadium. Ardiles, popular as a player at Spurs when he was hired after Argentina's World Cup triumph in 1978, now was figured to be the man responsible for the nosedive in form.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.