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The respected British pundit has given his take on what chances the Premier League representatives have going into the first leg of their Champions League encounters this evening...

Scottish pundit Alan Hansen has today acclaimed reigning Champions League holders Manchester United ahead of their quarter-final clash against Portuguese side Porto this evening.

Hansen is not deterred by the club's stuttering form of late, which included a double banana skin result against title rivals Liverpool and west London outfit Fulham, together with their two concessions and shaky display versus Aston Villa, and believes Sir Alex Ferguson's men will respond in emphatic fashion when lining up against their visitors.

However, the 53-year-old, who won three European Cups with Liverpool, believes Arsenal will be in for a tough contest against Villarreal.

He explained to journalists present at the Football Pools, "Manchester United take on Porto at Old Trafford and I expect an improvement from a lot of their players after recent poor performances.

"The stats behind the game suggest a comfortable home win, with Porto having never won in England in 11 attempts, with ten of those matches resulting in defeat. I think we all remember the only occasion when the Portuguese club did get a positive result, [when] Jose Mourinho danced up the Old Trafford touchline."

"I expect a home win from this one."

Regarding Arsenal's chances of negotiating past Villarreal, Hansen said, "Arsenal are doing very well at the moment and, with their big players all returning such as Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor, they will fancy their chances against Villarreal.

"I believe we will have three English sides in the semi-final so I would expect Arsenal to progress over two legs, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they drew this one.

"The Spanish club are a strong defensive outfit and, as they showed against Manchester United earlier in the competition, are well capable of getting draws."

Singling out the danger men, Hansen warned Arsene Wenger of former Manchester United talent Giuseppe Rossi.

"Rossi has proved a big hit in Spain, with 23 goals in 49 league appearances for the club,” the former defender said.

"However, the game is likely to be won in midfield where Fabregas will be up against his Spanish international team-mate Marcos Senna, who is an excellent experienced player.

"Arsenal should go through to the semis but the away leg won’t be easy. I’d expect a tight, low-scoring match, which will suit Arsene as few teams get results at the Emirates.”

Alan Dawson, Goal.com