A year after liver transplant,Barcelona’s Abidal returns

Vilanova will not travel to Vigo,but his assistant Jordi Roura said there was a strong possibility he could join the team in Paris. Vilanova flew back to Barcelona on Tuesday after two months undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment in New York.

The 44-year-old had an operation to remove a tumour from his saliva glands in November 2011 and required a second round of surgery in December. “The return of Tito means a lot. The boss is back and this is always very important,” said Roura who has held the reins in Vilanova’s absence.

“It’s an important boost for the team,” Roura told a news conference on Friday. “He has just finished receiving treatment and the seven to 10 days afterwards are very tough. We prefer to wait although he will come to training and depending on how he goes there is a good chance he could travel to Paris.”

In Vigo,Lionel Messi has the chance to extend his record sequence to 19 consecutive league games with a goal. The only league team the Argentine has failed to hit the net against this season is Celta – Adriano,Alba and David Villa having grabbed the goals in the 3-1 home win on November 3.

Catch 22nd in Munich

In Munich,There will be no celebrations in Marienplatz,waving of red and white flags or the spilling of beer from the mayor’s balcony onto the thousands of supporters below if Bayern Munich clinch the Bundesliga title on Saturday.

With a 20-point lead and eight games remaining,Bayern could clinch a 22nd Bundesliga crown should they beat Hamburg SV and champions Borussia Dortmund fail to win at VfB Stuttgart. Even though it will represent their first silverware since 2010,when they won the domestic double under then coach Louis van Gaal,and end Dortmund’s sensational two-year German reign,there is little mood for celebrations just yet.

“We will quickly get together,then we will go straight home and from Sunday we will only be thinking about Juve,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said of the team’s planned post-match celebrations should they claim the title. “There will not even be a dinner.”

Bayern take on Italy’s Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals next week and as much as the domestic league title will ease pressure on the players,they know that club bosses have set their sights on European glory as well. Bayern,looking for their first European title since 2001 and fifth in total,have lost two Champions League finals in the past three seasons.

“I would not mind being crowned Bundesliga champions in our home stadium but we will not be celebrating a lot,” midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said. “Everyone has a target in front of their eyes and that is to perform well on Tuesday (against Juventus) so that is why there will not be much celebrating,” he added. “We have not won a title in two years and we are just about to do it,so that would give us a really good push.”

Whether it will be business as usual for Bayern,who have won 22 of their 26 games,remains to be seen with Hamburg,in eighth place,looking to secure a European spot and having playmaker Rafael van der Vaart in great form.

Defending champions Dortmund,eager to hold on to second spot,are also on a good run,with Marco Reus (two),Ilkay Guedogan and Mario Goetze scoring all of Germany’s goals in the 4-1 win over the Kazakhs on Tuesday.

United chase record

In England,With a 20th league title virtually in the bag and no more European distractions,Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is challenging his side to push for a Premier League points record. United visit Sunderland on Saturday when victory would open up an 18-point lead,at least until second-placed Manchester City host Newcastle United later. With nine games remaining,United have 74 points and need 22 more to break the record of 95 set by Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side in 2004-05. Their own record is 92.

“If we get to 96 points I’d be absolutely delighted,” Ferguson,whose side face Chelsea in an FA Cup quarter-final replay on Monday said this week while waiting for his players to return from international duty. “That would be a fantastic season. If we get to that position,we have probably won the league.”

Totti over derby

In Italy,Serie A leaders Juventus visit Inter Milan on Saturday but the Derby d’Italia rivalry could be overshadowed by the exploits of AS Roma’s 36-year-old Francesco Totti. Roma,joint fifth with Inter and Lazio,travel to struggling Palermo with Totti enjoying a second wind after overtaking Gunnar Nordahl’s total of 225 Serie A goals to become the second-highest scorer in the league’s history. On Thursday,the one-club player celebrated 20 years since his professional debut for Roma.