Christoph Metzelder: Schalke are the underdogs in the Champions League clash against Manchester United

Posted Monday, April 25, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Christoph Metzelder has admitted that Schalke are the underdogs in the upcoming Champions League clash against Manchester United.

The German club play host to the Red Devils in the first leg on Tuesday, with the reverse fixture set to take place at Old Trafford on May 3.

The winner of the double-header will book a spot in the final of the tournament, which takes place at Wembley this season. And the former Real Madrid defender believes that United will be confident of making their way past the Bundesliga outfit.

"I think we are underdogs, yes," Metzelder said, according to The Telegraph.

"United have so much experience in the Champions League, playing quarter-finals or semi-finals every year.

"United will be more confident of going to London than if they had faced Barcelona or Madrid."

But the 30-year-old insists that his side will not feel "daunted" by Sir Alex Ferguson's charges, having beaten holders Inter by a 7-3 aggregate en route to the semi-finals.

"It was very surprising for us to play as we did at the San Siro," Metzelder said. "We have a coach who is very intelligent, who analyses opponents very well, who is very self-confident. He is trying to find us a way of beating them, of us taking control.

"When you have the players we do – Raul, [Jose Manuel] Jurado, [Alexander] Baumjohann - they like more to attack than defend. We know they have so many individuals who are strong. But are we daunted by them? No."