Villarreal depleted by suspensions
Friday, February 20, 2009
Article summary
Villarreal CF have two players suspended for next week's first knockout round encounter against Panathinaikos FC while Manchester United FC's Nemanja Vidić and Club Atlético de Madrid's Luis Perea are also banned.
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Villarreal CF, Manchester United FC and Club Atlético de Madrid will all be without key players for next week's UEFA Champions League first knockout round first-leg ties due to suspensions.
Duo out
Spanish side Villarreal are the worst hit as Guille Franco's Mathday 6 red card at Celtic FC means he is out of Wednesday's visit of Panathinaikos FC along with Joan Capdevila, who serves the second of a two-game ban. Ariel Ibagaza, meanwhile, is just one booking away from a ban as are Panathinaikos trio Giannis Goumas, Simão and Nikos Spiropoulos.
Vidić ban
United, against whom Capdevila was sent off on Matchday 5, will not have influential defender Nemanja Vidić in Tuesday's trip to FC Internazionale Milano after he was dismissed in the FIFA Club World Cup final victory in December. Atlético coach Abel Resino's plans for his first European match in charge the same night against FC Porto have also been hit as Luis Perea is suspended after accumulating three yellow cards in the group stage. Resino also has worries about Mariano Pernía and Maniche who will miss the second leg if they are booked.
Concerns
On the other hand, Porto have no such worries, similarly Inter and Real Madrid CF, whose opposition Liverpool FC will hope that Álvaro Arbeloa and Albert Riera avoid cautions. Also on Wednesday, Chelsea FC have Frank Lampard available once more but John Terry is one yellow card away from a ban while opponents Juventus will be able to recall Mohamed Sissoko but colleague Amauri is one caution short of a suspension. In the night's other game Sporting Clube de Portugal's Marco Caneira is one booking away from a ban, as is FC Bayern München's Tim Borowski.
Full list
There are similar concerns for several of Tuesday's contenders. Arsenal FC's Robin van Persie and AS Roma's Daniele De Rossi will walk the tightrope in their first leg, as will FC Barcelona's Rafael Márquez at Olympique Lyonnais, who have Cris and Juninho Pernambucano back after the pair sat out the Matchday 6 loss to Bayern. For full details on all suspensions and bookings for the season please click here.