Connect with us

Current Players

CHELSEA v Benfica: Champions League Preview

Venue: Stamford Bridge

Date: 4 April

Kick-off: 1945 BST

 

The last month for us has seen a bit of a turnaround – Ok, ‘a bit’ is maybe understating it a little, considering the schoolboy squabbles in and out of the press seem to have died down and we’ve managed six wins and a draw from eight games.

We managed to keep a clean sheet against tonight’s opponents in the last leg and even nicked an away goal but given Cardoza, who’s already scored 26 goals in 35 appearances, had a quiet one at home, our back four will need to make sure they keep him tucked up again tonight.

Whilst our last game in the league saw us beat Villa fairly comfortably, a lapse in concentration cost us a couple of goals. We won’t be able to afford that against a Benfica side who trail Porto by a single point in the league. So whilst they’ve already more or less qualified for next year’s Champions League, we’re the one’s with everything to do in this year’s competition. Still, since we already know if we win this tie our reward is a fairly soft semi-final, it’s all good.

 

 

MANAGERS’ VIEWS

Going into tonight’s game against Benfica, Roberto Di Matteo is clear there’s no room for complacency, saying “It is a danger. This is half-time and we’re leading 1-0. But a 1-0 lead is basically nothing.  Our players are aware of this, and we’ll have to go into this game with the right attitude, the same attitude as against Napoli.   Nothing has been done yet. We’re aware of that. We need to go and qualify for the next round.  This tie is far from over. They have scored in every away game of their Champions League season, so it’s a difficult task tomorrow night.  We won’t switch off. Only 50 percent of the job has been done because qualification is over two games.  We have put ourselves in a good position but Benfica away from home are a very strong side and they are capable of scoring as well so there will be no complacency from our side at all.”

Benfica boss Jorge Jesus is certainly confident his side can get the win they need, insisting “We were superior in many things to Chelsea (in the first leg), but they were luckier in one moment.  We’ve scored in all our away games so far, so we can easily go there and win.”

 

 

SQUAD NEWS

For Chelsea, Didier Drogba (foot), David Luiz (ankle) and Raul Meireles (knee) may be available after training ahead of the game.

For Benfica, Ezequiel Garay and Jardel are both likely to miss this game with injuries.

 

 

TEAM

CHELSEA (from): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Bertrand, Mikel, Romeu, Essien, Meireles, Ramires, Lampard, Mata, Malouda, Drogba, Torres, Sturridge, Kalou, Turnbull.

 

 

LAST MEETING

Benfica 0-1 Chelsea (27th March 2012)

 

 

PREDICTION

Ok, so the good news first. We’ve won all our home games in the Champions League this season, scoring 14 and conceding just once. On top of that, from 7 times in the past when we’ve won the first leg away, 7 times we’ve finished the job at home. And the bad news? Well, we might have an away goal advantage at the start of the game but Benfica haven’t been shy when it comes to scoring on their travels in the Champions League and managed to put United out doing just that. So will we have the prospect of another Champios League against Barca to look forward to after tonight? You make your own minds up about that while I fetch the valium!

 

Categories

Archives

Blue is the colour

TheChelseaBlog.org is an honest insight to the World of Chelsea FC. Not always pretty, sometimes rather cynical, but always realistic.









Calendar

April 2012
M T W T F S S
« Mar   May »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
Chelsea News



Chelsea Blog FaceBook Icon Chelsea Blog Twitter
Chelsea News

More in Current Players