The Tipster: Matchday 9

Inter worries
In Group A, FC Barcelona will be aiming for an eleventh consecutive European victory this season against a weakened Internazionale FC side at Camp Nou. Inter coach Héctor Cúper faces a major selection headache, with new signing Gabriel Batistuta ineligible and the competition's leading scorer, Hernán Crespo, ruled out through injury. Also missing are midfield players Matias Almeyda, Nicola Beati and Emre Belözoglu and defenders Daniele Adani and Francesco Coco. Tuesday's second Group A match is between two teams who must win to keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive, as Bayer 04 Leverkusen, under caretaker coach Thomas Hörster following Klaus Toppmöller's dismissal this weekend, take on Newcastle United FC, who will be without suspended forwards Craig Bellamy and Alan Shearer.

Dream Team battle
AFC Ajax face a major challenge as they attempt to dislodge English Premiership leaders Arsenal FC from the top of Group B. Look no further than Thierry Henry for high-flying forwards, as the French striker was rested for the weekend's FA Cup success and should be raring to go. Tuesday's other match in this group sees AS Roma go head-to-head with Valencia CF, with both sides weakened by suspension. Valencia will be missing Miguel Angulo, while the home side must do without Emerson and Walter Samuel. Both teams are well represented in the current Dream Team, with goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli and defender Christian Panucci representing Roma, while Valencia's inclusions are injured defender Curro Torres and midfield players Rubén Baraja and Pablo Aimar, so there are plenty of players to choose from here.

Madrid will be back
At the bottom of Group C, Real Madrid CF have not made it easy to qualify for the quarter-finals, but would anyone want to write the title-holders off so early in the competition? With domestic results improving recently, Tipster believes that coach Vicente del Bosque may have found the solution to Madrid's earlier problems. Raúl González became Spain's leading international goalscorer of all time against Germany last Wednesday and is one to watch. However, another player to consider is Guti, who is Madrid's second-highest points scorer and a good deal cheaper than his team-mate. Fernando Hierro, however, will probably miss the rest of the second group stage through injury. AC Milan have no such worries, impressing both at home and abroad, and Tipster will not be alone in thinking it may be time to stock up on players from the team currently top of Group C before their match against FC Lokomotiv Moskva on Wednesday. Lokomotiv will be without suspended midfield player Vadim Evseev.

Expect more Makaay
In Group D, FC Basel need to rekindle the form that saw them eliminate Liverpool FC and FC Spartak Moskva in the first group stage if they are to keep their European adventure alive. Wednesday's opponents RC Deportivo La Coruña, on the other hand, will be hoping to close the gap on group leaders Manchester United FC and Juventus FC and, if Fantasy Football statistics are anything to go by, Dutch striker Roy Makaay will be the focal point of their hopes. Deportivo defender César Martín will be out of action for up to three weeks with a groin injury. Finally, United, still hoping to make it to the final party at Old Trafford in May, are at home to Juventus FC, but Argentinian star Juan Sebastián Verón is suspended.

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