Barcelona's Lionel Messi (L) celebrates after scoring his second goal against Real Madrid during their Champions League semi-final first leg soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, April 27, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Manchester United, which lost to Barcelona in the 2009 final, is certainly confident that Schalke's longest run in the competition will end at Old Trafford after its 2-0 collapse at home.

Key players including striker Wayne Rooney are set to be rested for Sunday's Premier League match against Chelsea, which is just three points behind United with three matches to go after the leaders lost at Arsenal on Sunday.

"I will make some changes on Wednesday without question," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "I will bring Paul Scholes back in, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen.

"We'll need to do that but I will probably keep my experienced players at the back. We have a big week ahead ... two massive games, so we will regroup and freshen it up."

History does not favor United on Wednesday, with the three-time European champions losing all four previous knockout phase matches against German sides.

Recent form, though, provides more encouragement: Schalke has lost three successive matches and was routed 4-1 by Bayern Munich on Saturday.

"It's never good to lose, but in principle we have nothing to play for in the Bundesliga," midfielder Alex Baumjohann said. "We can't hide our heads in the sand, we have to repeat the performances we had before. You always believe, as long as it's not finally decided (against United).

"But a lot of things have to come together for us to achieve a miracle. But if we don't believe in it, we might as well not fly to England."

Their chances, though, of returning to England for the May 28 final at Wembley are slim.