Glamour tie kicks off semis

Six-times winners Milan, at home in today's first leg, defend a proud record of having won all their previous semi-finals except for the first in the inaugural 1955-56 season. The Italians will be looking to reach their 11th final and third in four years.

Favourites Barcelona, winners in 1992, want to improve a relatively poor record for one of the world's greatest clubs of only one European Cup victory from four finals, the last being a 4-0 drubbing by Milan in Athens in 1994.

Barcelona's Ronaldinho comes up against his predecessor as European Footballer of the Year, Andriy Shevchenko, at the San Siro tonight.

The Spaniards will miss the suspended Deco and injured Lionel Messi in the creative department.

"We are more beginners than them in the matter of semi-finals, they are more experienced," said Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. "We must be careful because the Italians start slowly and then end up scoring against you."

Milan are aiming to make amends for last season's final defeat by Liverpool in Istanbul by reaching this year's showpiece at the Stade de France on May 17.

Arsenal will not feel they are upstarts if they follow Liverpool into the final, although Arsene Wenger's side have already surpassed expectations by taking the Londoners further than they have been before.

Villarreal have also broken new ground with every round they have played in their debut Champions League season and are unbeaten in nine meetings with British sides.

The tie pits Frenchman Wenger's pan-European connection against a South American-inspired Spanish club from a small coastal town which lies between Barcelona and Valencia.

At Highbury tomorrow, there is an appetising confrontation in prospect to match that between Ronaldinho and Shevchenko.

Villarreal's influential playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme will try to prise open an Arsenal defence that has not conceded a goal in eight Champions League games dating back to September.

"I see a complicated tie, like the previous one against Inter," the Argentine said referring to Villarreal's quarter-final win on away goals.

"Arsenal are a team with great players and (striker Thierry) Henry is the one who makes the difference," Riquelme told his club's website.

Riquelme's midfield tussle with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas is in doubt with the Spanish teenager nursing a foot injury.

His absence would deal a severe blow to Arsenal's chances after he showed a maturity beyond his years in the victories over Real Madrid and Juventus in the previous rounds.

Fabregas's compatriot Jose Antonio Reyes is banned and Villarreal's Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastian Viera is also serving a suspension.

Statistics...

Milan vs Barcelona
Played 7
Wins Milan 3; Barcelona 3
Draws 1
Goals Milan 12; Barcelona 12

¤ Milan have won 12 and drawn one of their last 13 Champions League home games, scoring 34 goals and conceding eight

¤ Milan lost their first European Cup semi-final against Real Madrid in 1955-56, the inaugural season, but have not lost at this stage since, reaching 10 finals, including two in the last three seasons

¤ Milan are seeking their 100th win in their 181st European Cup/Champions League match

¤ Barcelona are unbeaten in all 10 Champions League games this season and have conceded a meagre four goals, scoring 21

¤ Barcelona have won more away matches against Italian teams than they have lost, with six victories to four defeats in 16 games

¤ Since reaching the 1994 final, when they lost 4-0 to Milan, Barcelona have reached two semi-finals, losing to Valencia in 2000 and eventual champions Real Madrid in 2002

The semi-finals