FanHouse Rio Ferdinand

Manchester United ... Barcelona ... the UEFA Champions League final. What more really needs to be said?

Wednesday night in Rome (ESPN, 2:25 PM ET) the best team in Europe will be crowned in a contest pitting the champions of what are considered the two top professional leagues in the world -- the (English) Premier League and La Liga. Oh right, there's the juicy subplot between two of the world's best players, too, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi squaring off at the Stadio Olimpico.

The second leg of the all-English Champions League semifinal resumes Tuesday afternoon when Manchester United heads south to London to face rival Arsenal. The defending tournament champion Red Devils head to the capital with a 1-0 lead thanks to John O'Shea's tally in first half last week.

Manchester United is expected to have defender Rio Ferdinand back, who picked up an injury in the final minutes last week. Playing against Arsenal is that the Gunners haven't advanced from a Champions League knockout game after losing the first leg, yet they also haven't lost a home game in the competition since 2004-05.

The match kicks off at 2:45 PM ET and we'll be blogging shortly before that.