Manchester United are beatable, says Olympiacos' Michael Olaitan

The Nigerian believes his Greek side can upstage the Red Devils when both sides meet in the Champions League round of 16 first leg encounter on Tuesday   

 Olympiacos’ Michael Olaitan is optimist his side can brush aside England’s Manchester United                     onTuesday’s Uefa Champions League encounter to be staged in Greece.                                                                                                                                                                               

The game billed for the Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki will see the Thrylos attempt to make it to the last eight against David Moyes’s men that have been blowing hot and cold this season and Olaitan believes the Red Devils are beatable.

 “If you do not believe in the dream, then you better not play I say generally and if you do not believe this, then you better not get off the field,” Olaitan told Gazzetta.gr.

“We will do everything to oppose this huge team called Manchester United.

“Whether we qualify or not is not to prejudge anyone. What we can anticipate is that we will fight!

“If we fight, we hope to do something great,” he concluded.

The Nigerian has made two appearances in the Champions League this season and will be gunning for his third game against the former European champions.

Olympiacos are unbeaten in the league since February last year and have this season amassed an astonishing goal difference of plus 69, conceding just nine goals. 

Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, Messi - who will be Champions League top scorer this season?

The Sweden international currently leads the goalscoring charts, but he faces stiff competition from the Spain-based duo

With the Champions League slowly approaching its business end, the race for the top scorer title is hotting up.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sat top of the goalscoring charts following the group stage with nine strikes, but last week Zlatan Ibrahimovic leapfrogged him with a double in Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Ronaldo and Madrid are yet to play the first leg of the last 16, though, so the Portuguese has the chance to add to his tally in Wednesday's away game against Schalke.

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi has not given up on the Champions League Golden Boot. The Argentine currently sits on seven goals, with Barcelona all but through to the quarter-finals at the expense of Manchester City.

The Premier League giants have two candidates for the top scorer title in the form of Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo, but both will have to be at their best in the second leg at Barca if they are to overturn a 2-0 deficit and threaten Ibrahimovic.

Another striker who will still be dreaming of challenging for top spot is Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa, who has now netted five times following his winner against AC Milan last week.

Additionally, outsiders such as Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Edinson Cavani (PSG) and Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) are all still in contention, but will have to find their scoring touch in the next few games if they are to have a realistic shot at the Champions League Golden Boot.

Arsene Wenger accuses Arjen Robben of play-acting as ten-man Arsenal lose to Bayern Munich

    Wenger hit out at  Robben Over this moment                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                        Arsene Wenger accused Bayern Munich of ‘diving all game’ on a disastrous night for Arsenal.

Goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller put Pep guardiolas men firmly in charge ahead of the march 11 Return

But Wenger hit out at the Germans after Wojciech Sczczesny was red carded for bringing down Arjen Robben in the game-changing moment.

He fumed: “Our keeper went genuinely for the ball. He touched Robben and he certainly made more of it. I told him afterwards.”

TV replays showed the Pole - in further trouble with UEFA for making an obscene hand gesture - had collided with Robben’s standing leg.

His dismissal was one of three hammer blows for Wenger on the night as he also saw Mesut Ozil’s early penalty saved and Muller make the tie near-impossible to recover with his late goal after Arsenal had hung on gamely at 1-0.

But it was the red card that upset him most. He added: “Robben has enough experience to know to make more of it. Overall I felt Bayern made more of every single contact and we are not used to it in England.

“The fouls that were given are not given in the Premier League. but we have to get used to it and to accept it.”

Barcelona charged for fraud in Neymar tax probe

According to a judge at the Spanish High Court, the Catalan club failed to declare a €37.9 million payment in their signing of the Brazilian forward from Santos                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Barcelona have been charged by the Spanish High Court for tax fraud in their signing of Neymar from Santos last year.

The Catalan club were hit with news of the latest probe on Wednesday as prosecutors claimed Barca failed to pay a sum of €9.1m owed on a taxable payment of €37.9m, and despite pleading their innocence in a statement released on their website, judge Pablo Ruz revealed on Thursday that the Blaugrana will be charged in court.

The charges concern alleged fiscal irregularities between 2011 and 2013, relating to the Brazilian's controversial transfer.

In a document submitted on Wednesday, prosecutors claimed Barca failed to pay a sum of €9.1m owed on a taxable payment of €37.9m to the player's parents, with the judge considering that Neymar - as a non-Spanish resident - would be obliged to pay tax on that sum in either Brazil or Spain.

"We express our total willingness to collaborate with the Justice authorities in this matter, as we have done since the first moment the issue arose and in any other area in which our presence may be required," Barca's statement read on Wednesday.

A complaint by Barca socio Jordi Cases over the lack of transparency in the controversial deal led to an initial investigation into club president Sandro Rosell and saw the 49-year-old tender his resignation last month.

New president Josep Maria Bartomeu then presented documents at a press conference later that week that broke down the costs of the transfer.

Those revealed that Barcelona had in fact paid out €86.2m in the total cost of the operation, although the Catalan club insisted that the transfer itself remained at the oft-quoted figure of €57.1m.

Bartomeu has vowed to fight all charges in the controversial case.

Champions League: Jose Mourinho feels Barcelona have lost their mystique

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says Manchester City will be facing the worst Barcelona side in 'many, many years' in the last-16 of the Champions League.                                                                                                                                                                                                   City face Lionel Messi and company in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening in a highly-anticipated game that would have gone down just as well as the final.

Barcelona won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011 but have since gone out to Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

And Mourinho feels they are not a side that should be feared as much as 2011, when they beat Arsenal at this stage and then Real Madrid before seeing off Manchester United in the final at Wembley.

Mourinho worked alongside Sir Bobby Robson at the Nou Camp and has enjoyed a mixed relationship with the club since, especially during his time as manager of their fierce rivals Real.

When asked about the match, he said: "City have a chance.

"Of course by history Barcelona is the favourite, but this Barcelona, this season, is showing that it is not the same in previous years."

 "Of course, they have [Lionel] Messi - he is special - and they have more than him. But I think this is the worst Barcelona of many, many years."                       

Manchester City star Aguero ruled out of Barcelona clash

                                                                                                                                                                     The Argentina striker has not recovered from the hamstring strain he suffered last  month but Fernandinho will be ready to make his comeback against the Catalans                                                                                                                                   Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Sergio Aguero will play no part in the first leg of Manchester City’sChampions League last-16 tie against Barcelona.

The Argentina international’s season has been interrupted by a series of niggling injuries, the most recent of which came during his side’s 5-1 hammering of Tottenham last month when he tweaked his hamstring shortly after opening the scoring. 

Pellegrini had been hopeful that the former Atletico Madrid star would be fit enough to make the substitutes’ bench for the visit of Tata Martino’s side, having stepped up his rehabilitation with a return to first-team training last week. 

However, the Chilean confirmed on Monday: "Aguero is not on the squad list. We'll see if he can be fit for Saturday [against Stoke], but maybe it's difficult."

Aguero has scored 26 goals in 25 appearances this season, including six in the Champions League, and his head-to-head clash with international team-mate Lionel Messi was due to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the heavyweight clash. 
                                                                                                                                                                Pellegrini, however, was hopeful that midfield enforcer Fernandinho could be ready to make a return from injury after missing the last three games with a muscle strain.

“[Fernandinho] has a chance, he’s in the squad list for Tuesday, we’ll see tomorrow - he worked without any problem,” he added.

    

Raheem Sterling: Liverpool winger in England contention

England manager Roy Hodgson says Raheem Sterling's impressive form for Liverpool has put him in contention for a place in his World Cup squad.

The winger, 19, has been a first-team regular for the Reds this season and scored twice in the 5-1 win against Arsenal this month.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          His only England appearance to date came against Sweden in November 2012.

But Hodgson said: "Since he got back into the Liverpool team his form seems to be going up and up."

After making his international debut, Sterling struggled to secure a regular place in Liverpool's starting line-up last season.

However, he has made 25 appearances so far in 2013-14, scoring six goals, and has played a key role in helping Brendan Rodgers's side stay in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Hodgson added: "He is doing it for a top team and that puts a lot of pressure on everybody else because if you can do it at the top of the table with Liverpool then you can do it in an England shirt as well."

Sterling is not the only player whose form has impressed Hodgson this season.

Forward Wilfried Zaha, 21, has two England caps, having made his debut in the same game against Sweden as Sterling, before making a substitute appearance in last August's 3-2 friendly victory over Scotland.

The former Crystal Palace man had been unable to force his way into the first team at Manchester United, but is featuring regularly for Cardiff City, who he joined on loan last month.