This year sees the strongest semi-final line-up in Champions League history. Will it be Mourinho, Heynckes, Vilanova or Klopp? Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Borussia Dortmund?

The favourites for this years Champions League is Barcelona. They have won two out of the last four in 2009 and 2011 (both against Manchester United).

Their unique tiki-taka style that graces the hallowed Nou Camp turf makes them still the best passing side in the world, now, and probably ever. The only difference between the two previous victories for Barca and this season is the man who puts the team-sheet on the wall.

Pep Guardiola was an unbelievable success in Catalunya, guiding Barca to 14 trophies in four seasons, including two successes in Europe and three in the Spanish League. Tito Vilanova had big shoes to fill but the shoes were not to big for Tito, at the time of writing Barcelona were 13 points ahead of massive rivals Real Madrid and only require three wins in the next seven to reclaim the title that Jose Mourinho and Madrid stole away from them last season.

Things on the continent haven’t been as simple for Barca. In the group stages a shock loss to Celtic and a draw to Benfica didn’t stop them reaching the knockout rounds as group F winners. In the last 16, they were drawn against AC Milan, followed by a quarterfinal with PSG. Milan was not a routine test, going 2-0 down in the first leg but coming back to win the tie 4-2.

An away goals defeat of the side from Paris took the Catalans into the semi-final for the 6^th consecutive year however they only scraped through on away goals. The reason why they made it through both these encounters is short and sweet: Lionel Messi.

The little Argentine masterminded the win over the Italians with two goals and an all round superb display. He was injured for the second leg of the Paris-Saint-Germaine fixture but still hobbled off the bench, to play a key role the Spanish side’s performance picked up and, not long after his arrival onto the pitch, Barcelona scored to settle the tie in their favour.

Bayern Munich will be a stern test but who would bet against a side with such quality?

Bayern Munich:

Last season’s losing Champions League finalists. Last season’s 2^nd place Bundesliga finishers. Last season’s German Cup runners up. As you can imagine it wasn’t the best year in the history of “FC Hollywood”. This season has been a completely different story their achievements include, wrapping up the Bundesliga title with six games to spare (a new record in Germany), booking a place in the DFB Pokal (German Cup) final and securing a match with Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League.

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