Barcelona will encourage Manchester City interest in Thierry Henry as the Spanish league leaders seek to bolster their summer transfer budget. Barça are also receptive to offers for their leading scorer, Samuel Eto’o, who they fear losing for nothing when his contract expires at the end of next season.

City’s aggressive plans to purchase a squad capable of qualifying for the Champions League have positioned them as European football’s cash cow and Barcelona are eager to milk them to support their own recruitment strategy. They would like to replace Henry with Robin van Persie and add his Arsenal team-mate Cesc Fábregas to their midfield, but currently do not have the resources to fund both transfers.

Barcelona are nursing an unexpected €30m (£27.3m) deficit after the Catalan broadcaster TV3 refused to cover a fine imposed on the club for unilaterally breaking a contract with another television company, Audiovisual Sport, to screen its matches. Barça have banned TV3 from the Camp Nou in an unsuccessful attempt to force payment, but are also preparing to sell to make up the shortfall.

Henry struggled for fitness and form in his first season at the club and, although the striker has been a more effective force this campaign, he turns 32 in August and is considered replaceable. While Barça would accept far less than the €125m release clause on Henry’s contract, the player himself is understood to be unwilling to switch the success and climate of Barcelona for the uncertainty of chasing a top-four place at Eastlands. The possibility of jeopardising his place in France’s 2010 World Cup squad is another consideration.

Barça would also be receptive to offers for Yaya Touré and Seydou Keita, aware that both midfielders are likely to be on African Nations Cup duty in January, with Ivory Coast and Mali respectively. Touré has been a target for several Premier League sides, including City. Eto’o, meanwhile, has been advised to sit out the final season of his contract and entertain offers as a free agent in 2010. The Cameroon forward has little loyalty to Barça’s board after the club unsuccessfully put him up for sale last summer.

In Germany, a 5-1 home victory for Wolfsburg against Bayern Munich proved enough to take the winners to the top of the Bundesliga, because the erstwhile leaders, Hertha Berlin, lost 3-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund. Wolfsburg lead Hamburg, 1-0 victors at home to Hoffenheim, on goal difference.

Wolfsburg were level at half-time against the team who started the day in second, after two goals in two minutes just before the break. Luca Toni equalised for Bayern after Christian Gentner’s opener. In the second half, though, two goals apiece from Edin Dzeko and Grafite gave Wolfsburg an emphatic win. For the fifth, Grafite dribbled past two defenders and the goalkeeper before scoring with a backheel in front of two other stunned Bayern defenders.

Today’s piffle needs some Shakabuku

Unceasing exposure to life’s punishing vicissitudes has left an increasingly bitter Mill to swallow the unpalatable reality that you should never get too excited in the happer times. Why? Because where there is good news, invariably there is also bad news waiting round the corner to ease a steel toecap into your Horne and Cordens. Like the time we found a pound on the kerb, only to a few hours later lose every penny we owned, all 101 of them, in a brutally subtle internet-based Nigerian bank scam. Or the time a real female said ‘hello’ to us in the street, only for us to realise a couple of seconds later that she was singing Lionel Richie.

Anyway, Arsenal fans might share a similar attitude if they have the misfortune to lose themselves in the back pages of tomorrow’s chip paper. On the one hand there is good news. Arsene Wenger has pledged his long-term future to the club, so that he can continue his inexorable progress towards the one thing that has eluded him in his time at Arsenal: finishing outside the top four.

On the other, Cesc Fabregas will join Barcelona for £48m in the summer.

At this point, we’d just like to take 60 seconds to have an impromptu knee-trembler at the thought of Iain Dowie panting with increasing desperation from inside a gim- sorry, of Xavi, Fabregas and Andres Iniesta playing together every week.

If he gets a minute in between picking up the pieces of the shambolic, multi-talented, multi-million-pound squad he inherited from that scurrilous foreign foreigner Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp will make two signings in the summer: Manchester City’s brilliant left-winger Martin Petrov, who will struggle to get a game when he’s fit because of that listless eejit Robinho, and Paraguay and Toluca centre-half Paulo Cesar da Silva. No, we haven’t either.

A cursory bit of tippy-tappy, however, tells us that one of da Silva’s signature moves is the bottom rope splash, and on December 31 2006 he defeated former Yokozona Akebono Tarō by Kimura Armlock in the first round at K-1 Dynamite 2006 for his second win of his career giving him a professional record of 2 wins and 6 losses overall spanning both PRIDE FC and K-1. Oh, hang on. Anyway, if Harry wants him, he must be good.

Another player to leave City in the summer will be Gelson Fernandes: the strawberry-blond duo of Gary Megson and Gordon Strachan are, as we type, on all fours inquisitively sniffing around his special place to see if he is fit to join Bolton and Celtic.

Won’t somebody think of today’s rumours?

These are tough times all round. Politicians’ husbands are forced to pay for their own bongo; Madonna can’t even bring light into an African child’s life , and poor L’il Mickey Owen can’t play the horses no more. But spare a thought for the rumour mongers in international week. Fabricated tittle-tattle about footballers leaving one club for another club are about as scarce as custard in Kent. It’s all: “Frank said his leisure-shirt is too scratchy”, “Capello is brill says Wayne”, and “Bent can beat Beckham’s caps record, he’s that good, says everyone”. Etc … etc … and so forth.

So once again we’re scratching around at the bottom of the custard tins of Whitstable to bring you these globules of gunk. One of them features news that Nottingham Forest are trying to sign the MK Dons midfielder Peter Leven for £1m. See if you can spot it.

On the positive side, Cesc Fábregas is doing his bit, adding his own grist to the Mill, with claims that Real Madrid tapped him up in 2007. He hasn’t said he’s going, he hasn’t even told Madrid he’s going, not even just to get them off the phone. But hell, the merest whiff is good enough for us these days: Cesc Fábregas is going to Real Madrid!

In what might be a tittle-for-tattle strike on Spain, Rafael Benítez has been making eyes at Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o, reckoning £18m might be enough to secure his services, and £28m in wages should keep him at Anfield for four years. Meanwhile, suits at Hertha Berlin will splash £4m to make Andriy Voronin’s move to Germany permanent.

Sunderland are looking elsewhere for their daily bread: Zak Whitbread, to be precise, who they hope to snaffle from Millwall ahead of West Brom and Blackburn.

Florent Malouda wants to stay at Chelsea, despite supposed interest from Juventus and Roma. But John Utaka is busy scratching the words “Done One” into his locker at Fratton Park, and is bobbing off to Bordeaux for £7m.

Leicester City will bid £2m for “Swindon sensation” Simon Cox, Coventry City reckon that the same fee should get them the Hearts winger Andrew Driver and Nottingham Forest are trying to sign the MK Dons midfielder Peter Leven for £1m.

Finally, QPR are going to eject Paulo Sousa from their head coach’s seat, forcing him to sit in the corner and watch Iain Dowie, Paul Ince, Gary Johnson or Roberto Di Matteo make a hash of managing the west Londoners instead.

And there’s still no custard in Kent.

What’ya got? Stick it in the comments box below.

From France’s Magic Square to Everton’s title-winning quartet of 1984-85, here are half a dozen groups that bossed the middle

1) Brazil 1958-62 (Zagallo-Didi-Zito-Garrincha)

The only midfield to play in consecutive World Cup finals, never mind win them both. Next!

2) Manchester United 1998-2001 (Giggs-Scholes-Keane-Beckham)

No side has meshed the genres of midfield play so successfully: irrepressible, sinuous dribbler; granite-willed captain and metronomic passer; technically outstanding creator and goalscorer; and the greatest crosser of a ball in history. Together they were responsible for some of the most exhilarating, quick-quick-quicker football imaginable, and between them have played a mind-boggling 2,264 games for United.

They are palpably without peer domestically, having won three titles in their only full seasons together before Sir Alex Ferguson killed the golden goose and bought Juan Sebastián Verón in pursuit of another European Cup. (Perversely, of course, United had won the European Cup two years earlier with none of the four playing in their proper positions.) After that moments were few and far between, although there was a touching last hurrah at White Hart Lane in April 2003, when Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and Scholes again combined for the decisive goal in United’s gloriously improbable championship victory.

For the partisan, much of their appeal lay in the fact that they got it: they were proper pros, free of bullshit (let’s not get revisionist about Beckham here – he only fully embraced Brand Beckham when he knew he was past his peak) at a time when football was starting to disappear up its own hole. At club level they were the last great British and Irish midfield. And they were surely the best.

3) France 1984-86 (Giresse-Platini-Tigana-Fernandez)

It’s never too late to find your soulmate. (Actually it is - if you’re in your thirties you’ve had it - but allow us some artistic licence here.) When France’s Carré Magique (Magic Square) first played together, in a friendly against England on 29 February 1984, Michel Platini and Jean Tigana were 28 and Alain Giresse was 31. The newbie, Luis Fernandez, was 24 and would complete a Bleu square that everybody wanted to bet on, and which would inspire France to famously win Euro 84 and reach the semi-finals of Mexico 86, their final act together.

They moved the ball around with the lazy serenity of collegiate dudes sharing a spliff. There was Giresse, the sort of squeaky-clean footballer you’d be proud to take home to your mother; Tigana with his outrageous, irresistible surges; Platini, the complete playmaker who also happened to score more than a goal every two games; and Fernandez, whose unforgettable penalty against Brazil unfairly dominates our thoughts to the exclusion of all his almost infinitesimal contributions.

Collectively, their greatest achievement of all might have been to make France the neutral’s favourites. Let’s be honest: the proverbial Gallic swagger rubs the masses up the wrong way these days, but this lot refreshed the parts other peers could not reach with their humility and their intuitive, highbrow passing. Never mind conventional foursomes: in football, they proved, the brain is certainly the most erogenous zone of all.

4) Liverpool 1978-80 (Kennedy-McDermott-Souness-Case)

Liverpool have had more lustrous midfield talents – despite the warped genius of Graeme Souness, this lot wouldn’t compile 100 caps between them – but never a more devastating collective. Most notably in their first full season together, 1978-79, when Liverpool won the title at an absolute canter and their lowest midfield scorer in the league was Jimmy Case with seven.

In an age when football was seriously dirty, the erroneous temptation is first to look at their physical qualities. Ray Kennedy could handle himself, and then there were the Three Taches, who appropriately knew all about the rough stuff. But this mob gave opponents the chance to do this two ways: the hard way, or the even harder way. You could be kicked off the pitch, and with relish, yet in many ways it was more painful to be passed off it.

Kennedy was an outstanding footballer - who Bob Paisley said brought more enquiries than any other player in his time at Anfield - and will always be remembered for that velcro touch against Derby; Souness was simply majestic but Case gave jacks of all trades a good name and McDermott, who hoovered up the individual awards in 1979-80, was a goalscoring midfielder with proper ability, as shown by his steady stream of simply outrageous goals. As players, Souness and arguably Kennedy excepted, they were very good. As a group they were truly great.

5) Barcelona/Spain 2006-09 (Xavi-Iniesta-AN Other)

It’s a peculiar thing, given the obvious and embarrassing difference in ability between you, me and even John O’Shea, that, when we watch football, we can for much of the time think that, with a fair wind and Dame Fortune having had a few liveners, we could do what he just did. But the rat-a-tat passing of Xavi, Iniesta and Barcelona’s front three, adopted Catalans toying with a helpless mouse, is on a completely different technical and intellectual plane.

There have been more dynamic midfields in Spanish football (in 1989-90, Michel, Martin Vazquez and Bernd Schuster inspired Real Madrid to score a simply preposterous 78 goals in 19 home league games – seriously though, 78 in 19 games) but none as cerebral. Their exquisite through-passing makes the eye of the needle seem big enough to get a bus through, and their ball-retention is almost unprecedented. Watching them keep possession with almost absent-minded ease in the final minutes of the Euro 2008 final, as Germany hared around like neanderthals, was joyous. They are so good, it’s terrifying.

What Sir Alex Ferguson described as their “passing carousel” is moving faster than ever this season, which has brought about some of the sort of aesthetically appealing football that has previously been beyond the mind’s eye, never mind two eyes. It all forces defenders into a Tetrisian resistance. And, as we know, there is only one way that can end.

6) Everton 1984-85 (Sheedy-Bracewell-Reid-Steven)

The biggest regret about Everton’s finest side is that they were not allowed to play in the European Cup. As a consequence, an arguably bigger regret is overshadowed: that their remarkable title-winning quartet of 1984-85 – who are probably just one last injury-time surge ahead of the Holy Trinity of Kendall, Harvey and Ball – hardly played together again at any level. We know of Paul Bracewell’s injuries, which would rule him out of the 1986-87 title-winning campaign entirely, but it is often forgotten that Peter Reid, the furiously beating heart of the side, started only 15 league games out of 42 in both 1985-86 and 1986-87.

As a consequence, the season of 1984-85 has the wistful qualities of a glorious winter romance. Everton were simply unstoppable, and their midfield showed a desire that verged on the rabid. The erudite passing of Bracewell and the ceaseless energy of Reid - often patronised but the PFA Player of the Year that season - gave them control of central midfield, and on the wings Steven, all direct dribbles and pinpoint crosses, and Sheedy, with a left foot so educated it could have been to Harvard, scored an absurd 33 goals between them. Yet after that, the four of them would barely play 33 games together.

Today’s tell-all is wondering whether its ears are too big or Apple’s headphones too small?

If it’s a four-star review of The Damned United you’re after, then you’ve come to the wrong place (that’s four stars out of five, by the way, not four out of 28, which would suggest it’s a bit of a turkey). But if it’s five-star speculation about Liverpool being the white-hot favourites to emerge from Valencia’s summer fire-sale with the scrawl of £20m-rated Spain midfielder David Silva on a lucrative contract, then this “undemanding but richly enjoyable, expertly constructed and effortlessly written” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian) rumour is for you.

Movie buffs may mistake Sergio Floccari for the actor who played the role of Man Hailing Taxi in Italian director Antonello Grimaldi’s little-known Golden Bear-nominated feature, Caos Calmo, but he’s actually an Atalanta striker whose 12 goals in 27 appearances for the Serie A side have got Gianfranco Zola’s antennae twitching at West Ham. The Irons will face stiff competition from Juventus, Roma, Villarreal, Wolfsburg and Zenit St Petersburg, although reported interest from Newcastle is likely to wane once they’re relegated and decide to make do with Mark Viduka instead.

In a Tarantino-esque plot development that would sound a lot less sinister if it came from anyone other than a middle-aged Italian businessman in a well-tailored suit, Genoa president Enrico Preziosi has told Tottenham to forget about signing Argentina striker Diego Milito … or else. “The figure of £10m that they are offering is ridiculous,” declared Preziosi, opening a cut-throat razor and gently caressing the blade with his thumb. “For that I would just give them his ear.” Unlike the Rumour Mill, Diego Milito will be hoping ‘Arry doesn’t call his president’s bluff.

Like a Best Actress Oscar-winner blubbering on stage at the Kodak Theatre, Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour has been making a spectacle of himself by blowing smoke up Martin O’Neill’s nether regions. “Villa are an amazing club,” he gushed with all the accuracy of a man who hasn’t been following the Premier League results for several weeks. “But Liege must decide whether they are good enough.”

Gather.

Barcelona directors have got out of their folding canvas chairs, taken up their megaphones and shouted “action!” for the opening scene of Let’s Get Thierry Henry To Stay At Camp Nou For Another Three Years. Meanwhile back in England and screwball comedy producers Manchester City are hoping to wrap their latest comedy excursion Let’s Show Knack-Prone Zimbabwean Striker Benjani The Door Before He Gets Injured Again.

• Midfielder out of Premier League line-up since Boxing Day
• Luka Modric believes he has thrived under Harry Redknapp

The Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone has voiced serious concerns about his future at White Hart Lane. The 22-year-old has not started a Premier League game since Boxing Day, but is believed to be still held in high regard by the Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp.

“I want to fight for my place,” Huddlestone said, “but the last game I played for Tottenham was in the reserves. I didn’t go there to play in the reserves so it is just a case of seeing what happens between now and the end of the season.

“It is difficult to say what the future might hold. Maybe the manager will bring a few new players in and get rid of a few and it might coincide with me not playing.

“Nothing has been said to me and I am not playing, so I am in a difficult situation. I have just got to focus on staying fit and taking my chance if it comes. The lads are on fire so it’s not likely the chance will be in the near future.”

One Spurs player whose form ensures his first-team place is secure is the playmaker Luka Modric, who has overcome a difficult start to his career in England. “Everyone has a different view on football but I didn’t have a fear that I wouldn’t be good enough in England,” Modric said.

“I believe in myself and my quality and I think I’ve proved that I can play here. I think I’m playing better and better.

“All my career, people have asked if I’d be strong enough and that started when I went to play [on loan] in the Bosnian league and then in the Croatian league and even for the Croatian national team.

“A lot of people wondered if I would be able to do it, but it’s never bothered me. It’s just people talking. I’ve come through much harder things to worry about that.”

Modric struggled under Tottenham’s former coach Juande Ramos but Redknapp has built his attack around the Croatia international. “I feel I’ve got better since Harry came to the club,” Modric said. “I’m getting used to the speed of football and the fact that I won’t get a lot of time on the ball. You need to think quickly here.”

Meanwhile, the injury-plagued Borussia Dortmund striker Alexander Frei claims Spurs are among the teams interested in him. “The problem is that I’m not considered a starter,” he said in the German magazine Kicker. “We have been approached by Napoli, PSG and Tottenham.”

The Barcelona youngster Bojan Krkic, who has also been linked with Spurs, has insisted he will stay at the Camp Nou. “I have never even thought about going,” he said.

The Guardian’s chief football correspondent reflects on the draw for the last eight of this season’s Champions League

The holders will be pleased with this draw, and I expect there to be three English sides in the semi-finals

Villarreal v Arsenal

Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 15 April

A reunion for Robert Pires, but of greater significance is the form of the ex-Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi, who has led the line well for the Spaniards. Arsenal will be confident after their recent unbeaten run and could have Cesc Fábregas and Emmanuel Adebayor back in full flight. Have disappointed at times this season, losing to big-boys Barça, Real and Seville, but Manuel Pellegrini’s 4-4-2 has looked strong. The Spanish team consistently punch above their weight but I believe quite confidently that, with the second leg at the Emirates, Arsenal will go through comfortably.

Verdict Arsenal

Key clash Giuseppe Rossi v William Gallas

Rossi is sharp, small small and can work his way into goalscoring positions with cunning and has an eye for a tap-in. Gallas will have to be strong, quick and focused.

Manchester United v Porto

Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 15 April

United will be delighted with this draw. Porto, probably, deflated. They will rely heavily on Lisandro López, with six goals in this competition, to snatch one at Old Trafford against the strongest defence in the Champions League. Helton, the Brazilian goalkeeper, can expect a peppering in Manchester. Outsiders Porto will need the away goal to have any chance, but Sir Alex Ferguson will be able to manoeuvre his squad to keep the second leg tight. Porto have two wins and two draws against United in six meetings, but domestically are only four points clear of Sporting Lisbon (heavy losers to Bayern).

Verdict Manchester United

Key clash Lisandro López v Patrice Evra

López plays as a right-sided attacker and will have seen a chink to exploit in Patrice Evra’s armoury when Aaron Lennon got inside the left-back several times in the Carling Cup final.

Liverpool v Chelsea

Wednesday 8 and Tuesday 14 April

Liverpool’s win at Manchester United sent out a strong signal, but Chelsea have found good form under Guus Hiddink and will relish playing the second leg at home. Rafael Benítez’s side have been excellent away from Anfield although against sides that play at a lesser pace than Chelsea. While Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres are in top form focus pre-match will inevitably centre on Benítez and Hiddink - and it will be interesting to see who is the most bullish. Another titanic battle in prospect, but Chelsea are strong enough defensively to keep the first leg tight, and go through.

Verdict Chelsea

Key clash Steven Gerrard v Frank Lampard

Michael Essien’s presence will encourage Lampard to get forward while Gerrard has more ammunition than any British player, power, precision and energy for 90 minutes.

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Wednesday 8 and Tuesday 14 April

This might be more difficult a test than many would consider, with Jürgen Klinsmann’s team hosting the return leg. Bayern have trailed lesser teams domestically this season (Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin and Hamburg) but have good players in important positions. Mark van Bommel is still going strong, but it is Franck Ribéry, down their left, who is the main danger, making chances for Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni. Both teams are unbeaten in Europe this season but Barça’s firepower, with Samuel Eto’o, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, makes the bookies’ odds fair at 5-2 for them to win the final.

Verdict Barcelona

Key clash Franck Ribéry v Daniel Alves

A duel between Ribéry and his direct, balanced movement with the ball and the Brazilian, who has an instinct for raiding and forcing his opposing winger to defend.

• Ferguson: ‘We understand Portuguese football’
• Liverpool’s Parry: ‘It’s not about historic form’

Optimism on all sides – the verdicts from the English clubs on today’s Champions League draw were, perhaps not too surprisingly, uniformly upbeat.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager

“This is a good draw for us, we’ve met Porto before and obviously we respect any Portuguese team. We have had a huge Portuguese influence in the club firstly with Carlos Queiroz but now with Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Nani so we understand Portuguese football.

“You sometimes wonder if being at home first is a good or a bad thing but I think in this modern-day competition there is no indication of what is better, the only thing you hope is that you don’t lose a goal in the home tie. We are happy with the draw and we are looking forward to the next round.”

Rafael Benítez, Liverpool manager

“Manchester United must now be favourites – they have an easier draw than us. Our half of the draw is the more difficult now after this draw.

“Obviously we did not want to [play on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster] and with the second leg of our quarter-final now scheduled for London on the 14th [of April], our wishes have been agreed with. Hopefully it won’t make a difference to us that the second leg is away. We have to think about the first game at Anfield with our fans behind us and look to get a positive result to take to Stamford Bridge.

“We need to make sure we don’t make a mistake in the first leg like we did in last year’s semi-final. They will be two tough games but we are playing well and clearly we are confident we can win.

“At this stage of the competition, you know you’ll play against a good team. Chelsea are a very good team. We know each other very well and this is an exciting draw. We knew it would be difficult to avoid an English team but we need to approach the two games with confidence.”

Rick Parry, Liverpool chief executive

“I don’t think [playing the first leg at home] bothers us. I don’t think it’s a significant difference. Obviously [not playing on the Hillsborough disaster anniversary] is massively important. There’s no more important issue for Liverpool than this.”

Guus Hiddink, Chelsea manager

“It’s getting more and more exciting at the end of the Champions League season. If you have great desire to get to the end in May, you have to play them – Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona. I’m OK with the draw.

“I was told that there have been a lot of clashes between the two teams in several competitions. They’re never boring games between these two big powerhouses of football. The draw happened during practice and one of the officials came and told us. The players stopped their exercises and said: ‘Who, who, who?’ That’s nice. They were very keen to know who their opponent would be, which shows their enthusiasm. “Both teams like to play football and have players in their teams to play in an attacking way. That’s a guarantee for big clashes.”

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager

“It is a difficult 50-50 draw. We know Villarreal and we have the experience, having played them before. It is maybe a good opportunity to play the first game away from home but at that level it is very difficult to be creative in your statement. It will depend on the quality of your performance and the players available as well. Now many players go away on international duty and I hope we don’t lose players through injuries because many of our players are coming back now from injuries. It looks like we are in a good situation. I don’t know [about Arsenal being favourites] and in fairness it’s not really important. In this game there is no real favourites and if I show you what has been said in the newspapers over the last six months you cannot put us as a favourite. Cesc [Fábregas] should be fit in two weeks. He is back in full training now and during the international break he has two weeks to sharpen up. Normally, he should be available again against Manchester City.”

• Man United to play Porto while Arsenal face Villarreal
• Liverpool spared Hillsborough anniversary fixture

Liverpool and Chelsea will meet again in the Champions League quarter-final in a tie that has become an almost annual event in European football, and Rafael Benítez’s team will be spared a fixture on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The two meet in the competition for the fifth consecutive season and for the fourth time in the knockout stages, Liverpool having won in semi-finals in 2005 and 2007 before Chelsea won 4-3 on aggregate last year.

This time around they will renew acquaintance at Anfield on Wednesday 8 April with the return leg the following Tuesday, allaying fears that Liverpool would have to play a match on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. “There’s no more important issue than this,” said Rick Parry, the club’s chief executive, before the dates were confirmed.

The defending champions Manchester United open at Old Trafford against Porto, who under Jose Mourinho knocked them out of the Champions League in 2004 and manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his contentment at the tie. “This is a good draw for us, we’ve met Porto before and obviously we respect any Portuguese team,” he said. “You sometimes wonder if being at home first is a good or a bad thing but I think in this modern-day competition there is no indication of what is better.”

Arsenal will play Villarreal, whom they beat in the semi-finals in 2006 before losing to Barcelona in the final. Arsène Wenger’s team travel to Spain for the first match.

The four Premier League clubs have avoided the second-favourites Barcelona, who were drawn against the German champions Bayern Munich, with the first leg at Camp Nou.

The draw for the semi-finals, made at the same time, paved the way for a possible repeat of last year’s final as well as a Manchester United-Liverpool showpiece. The winners of United’s tie with Porto will play Villarreal or Arsenal while Chelsea or Liverpool will have to find a way past Barça or Bayern.

The Champions League draw in full

Quarter-finals

Tuesday 7 April

Villarreal v Arsenal

Manchester United v Porto

Wednesday 8 April

Liverpool v Chelsea

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Tuesday 14 April

Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Chelsea v Liverpool

Wednesday 15 April

Arsenal v Villarreal

Porto v Manchester United

Semi-finals

Manchester United or Porto v Villarreal or Arsenal

Barcelona or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Chelsea

Semi-final ties to be played on 28-29 April and 5-6 May