Big Match - Big Fight Previews

There is a great weekend of sport in prospect and it begins today with the highly anticipated match up between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford this lunchtime.

The game has an added bit of flavour this year given that the Merseyside Reds have beaten United already in the league. Although, at Old Trafford it is likely to be a different story.

Rafael Benitez's war of words has backfired this season, after his infamous list of things he despised about Sir Alex Ferguson and his United team, Liverpool's title challenge fell apart at the seams and United went on an amazing unbeaten run in the league which is still standing. This has left a Keegan-esque feeling reverbarating around Anfield and perhaps many fans just wish Benitez had kept his mouth shut.

But this has not deterred Benitez from firing verbal warnings again to Ferguson. Saying that United are not untouchable and that he believes his Liverpool team can still win the title.

This must all be music to Sir Alex's ears though and as usual he has the psychological upperhand on one of his rivals managers. The more Benitez talks the more Liverpool seem to fail but in fairness to him it makes for great press coverage.

It is hard to see past United today, their formidable form has seen them become real quadruple contenders and again Liverpool's best chance of winning anything appears to be in Europe.

Prediciton Manchester United to win 2-0

On to the big fight now...

Amir Khan tonight is looking to become the number one contender for the WBO crown. In his way is legendary Mexican fighter Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera is an undoubted talent who has won world title fights at three different weights, a remarkable achievement in a sport where weight is everything.

It is perhaps surprising to see Khan put into such a tough fight so early on in his career. Although Khan at 22 is 13 years younger than Barrera, at 35 Barrera is still a world-class talent.

Khan was given easy fights for a while but now it seems the time has come for Khan to really step it up and show his class. Khan probably would not have been given such a tough fight had he not lost in 54 seconds to relative unknown boxer Colombia's Breidis Prescott. That defeat has put some serious doubt into the minds of his backers and his apparent glass jaw was there for all to see, something that is a worry for any boxer and not something that can be easily fixed. Khan has probably been given this fight to show that he truly is world-class and that defeat was a 'fluke' occurance.

Khan looks to have bounced back positively from this defeat and is in better physical shape than ever. Whether the defeat will have taken a huge mental toll we are yet to see but one thing is for sure we will probably find out tonight. Khan will have to start fast and make sure he does not take any brutal punches if he is to win tonight.

Although the bookies have Khan as a slight favourite it is hard to oppose such a warrior as Barrera. Whatever happens it is sure to be a great fight and well worth watching.

Just a quick word for our British hero Andy Murray he is back in action this week in Indian Wells, although he has been blighted with injuries he can win this tournament on his favoured hard court surface.

Champions League or English Premier League?

Kings of Europe or Kings of England?

It sounds like a straightforward question. Surely to be the champions of Europe is a greater achievement than being the best in England, just because of the sheer number of extra teams in the whole of Europe compared with England.

So basic statistics suggests that it is a far bigger honour to be the Kings of Europe. But as most people in sociology will tell you, statistics are not everything.

Is it really tougher to win the Champions League?

Perhaps, one of the best arguments for the Premier League being tougher to win is that in 2005 Liverpool won the Champions League, in the same season they finished a lowly fifth in the Premier League, even below their main rivals Everton. If the Champions League is so tough to win then how on earth did the fifth best side in England win it?

Maybe, another point to add to this one is that in two-legged cup competitions it is far more likely that a 'weaker' team can beat a 'better' club. The nature of cups is so that a fortunate goal here or there could end up winning you the competition. Something that is unlikely in a League where over the 38 games of a season luck pretty much evens itself out.

It is very rare to hear anybody say that a team who wins a league did not deserve it. Even the most biased of fans have to admit that when a team wins a league it is a great achievement which is unlikely to be 'lucky'.

Is the Champions League competition tougher in terms of teams than in the Premier League?

In some ways 'yes' and in some ways 'no'. Yes, it is tougher in the way that all of Europe's elite are competing to win the trophy. The likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are far better than the average Premier League side. But on the flip side of this teams such as Anorthosis, CFR Cluj, Bate Borisov and Aalborg are arguably far weaker than the average Premier League opposition.

Would fans prefer to win the English Premier League or the Champions League?

This is a difficult question to answer, one that was perhaps far easier to answer four or five years ago. Back then, English Premier League teams did not dominate Europe's top club competition in the way that they do now. It seems that if the league is weaker then it is more of an achievement to win in Europe.

However, this has all changed over the past few seasons and was proven by last season when English teams were only knocked out of the Champions League by other English teams. After an all English final and another season where so far all four English clubs have made the quarter-finals it is hard to deny that the EPL is Europe's toughest to win league. As a result because it is played over 38 games it seems a much fairer way of assessing which English team is the best. If your team wins the EPL there are more reasons to brag than if your team wins the Champions League.

All in all it is very hard to assess which competition is the greater to win in terms of achievement and prestige. People such as Roman Abramovich and Massimo Moratti would far sooner see their teams Chelsea and Inter Milan win the Champions League than their own Leagues. However, the die hard fans of such clubs especially in England probably would rather see their side lift the league trophy, knowing what a great achievement this really is. Yes, the Champions League is very tough to win but there is a greater luck factor involved, would Porto really have won the EPL the league they won the Champions League? Of course it is nice to beat teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid rather than hammering Wigan or Fulham but until a season long league is created between Europe's elite it is difficult to conclude that the Champions League is harder to win than the EPL.