Deco: Expects semi-final success
Barcelona play-maker Deco believes Manchester United will be running scared in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at Old Trafford.
The Barcelona ace feels United are the side under pressure following last week's 0-0 first-leg draw at the Camp Nou.
Deco feels United's failure to score an away goal gives Barcelona the edge ahead Tuesday's return meeting.
"The fear is with them now," Deco said in the News of the World.
"They know if they concede at home they will have to score twice to win the semi-final. I'm optimistic."
And Deco is also confident that Lionel Messi will prove a threat as United are forced to attack.
"In the first leg Messi had a lot of players on top of him when he received the ball, but he still caused problems," Deco added.
"Now they have to attack us more and they will not be able to concentrate so much on covering Messi.
"When I saw that Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo were all starting on Wednesday, I thought they would pressure us high up the pitch.
"But they defended quite deep and can't do that at home."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 24th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | Rubin Kazan vs Dynamo Kiev |
| 19:45 | AZ vs Olympiacos |
| 19:45 | Arsenal vs Standard Liege |
| 19:45 | Barcelona vs Inter Milan |
| 19:45 | Debrecen vs Liverpool |
| 19:45 | Fiorentina vs Lyon |
| 19:45 | Rangers vs VfB Stuttgart |
| 19:45 | Unirea Urziceni vs Sevilla |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | CSKA Moscow vs Wolfsburg |
| 19:45 | AC Milan vs Marseille |
| 19:45 | Apoel Nicosia vs Atletico Madrid |
| 19:45 | Bayern Munich vs Maccabi Haifa |
| 19:45 | Bordeaux vs Juventus |
| 19:45 | FC Porto vs Chelsea |
| 19:45 | Man Utd vs Besiktas |
| 19:45 | Real Madrid vs FC Zurich |
| Tuesday 8th December | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto |
| 19:45 | Besiktas vs CSKA Moscow |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs Apoel Nicosia |
| 19:45 | FC Zurich vs AC Milan |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Lyon 1 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Fiorentina 5 - 2 Debrecen | |
| Dynamo Kiev 1 - 2 Inter Milan | |
| Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 Barcelona | |
| Unirea Urziceni 1 - 1 Rangers | |
| Sevilla 1 - 1 VfB Stuttgart | |
| Standard Liege 2 - 0 Olympiacos | |
| Arsenal 4 - 1 AZ | |
| Tuesday 3rd November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Maccabi Haifa 0 - 1 Juventus | |
| Bayern Munich 0 - 2 Bordeaux | |
| Besiktas 0 - 3 Wolfsburg | |
| Man Utd 3 - 3 CSKA Moscow | |
| Marseille 6 - 1 FC Zurich | |
| AC Milan 1 - 1 Real Madrid | |
| Atletico Madrid 2 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Apoel Nicosia 0 - 1 FC Porto | |
| Wednesday 21st October | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Juventus 1 - 0 Maccabi Haifa | |
| Bordeaux 2 - 1 Bayern Munich | |
| Wolfsburg 0 - 0 Besiktas | |
| CSKA Moscow 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Olympiakos FC | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Standard Liege | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | AZ Alkmaar | 4 | 2 |
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