MANCHESTER United and Barcelona need just a draw tonight to advance to the semifinals of the lucrative European Champions League.

United and Barcelona took a major step towards the next round with away wins in Roma and Schalke 04 respectively.

The lone German representative remaining in the competition, Schalke lost 0-1 at home to Barcelona in the first leg. The side’s domestic form though has been impressive as it has moved to second in the Bundesliga standings and midfielder Jermaine Jones believes they still have a chance.

“We have 90 minutes to consign the first match to memory and we know Barcelona can be fragile in defense.

“Nobody gave us a chance against Porto yet we made the quarterfinals. We have been written off in the Bundesliga and now we are second,” he said.

Barcelona’s former World Footballer of the Year Gianluca Zambrotta also does not believe that it is all over.

“People are asking me if I’d prefer Manchester United or AS Roma but I’ll not answer that because there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Ronaldinho, whose future at the club has been the cause of intense speculation in recent weeks, is out for six weeks with a pulled muscle, while Lionel Messi is still out of action.

Serie A club Roma has an even more difficult task in Manchester as the side seeks to overcome a 2-0 home defeat. Plus, the side will be playing against United without inspirational captain Francesco Totti.

Last year, Roma lost its quarterfinal clash in Manchester 7-1 and the players are hoping to put that disaster behind them.

“We have to give our best and see what happens,” Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi told the UEFA Web site.

Mirko Vucinic, who scored with a superb dipping shot from 20 meters out in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Genoa in Serie A at the weekend, will lead Roma’s attack.

(SD-Agencies)