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CHELSEA v Galatasaray: Preview


Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: 18 March 2014
Kick-off: 19.45 GMT

With Chelsea’s lack of strike force this season, there’ll have been plenty of times we’ve longed for Didier Drogba back but none of us would have opted to see him back in someone else’s colours. That’s how it is though because tonight we see our former Ivorian striker running towards us on Galatasaray’s behalf in the Champions League.
With the first-leg a couple of weeks ago finishing 1-1 we have the smallest of advantages but even a minor slip-up would wipe that out, so our defence will have to work their socks off against the 35 year old if we’re going to progress to the quarter finals.

MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into tonight’s second leg, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says “If you look at the result, it’s 1-1. You look at the first game, one team was better in the first half and another was better in the second, so everything is balanced. Normally it will be the same kind of match with the result going to the end. I don’t think one team will make a result whereby people at half-time know who is going to win.”
Of course, it was inevitable the Chelsea boss would be asked about his former striker and on Didier, Mourinho says “He’s one of the most important players in the history of this club, that’s in no doubt. All Chelsea fans would agree with that. You can’t say he’s the most important one because that’s not fair on other people. Is he the same player at 36 than he was at 26? Nobody is, but he’s one of the best strikers in the world, that’s for sure.” Mourinho refused to be drawn on a potential return for Drogba next season though, insisting “I don’t think it’s the right moment to speak about that. He’s a Galatasaray player, we know he is a free agent and finishes his contract at the end of the season but we don’t think this is the time to speak about it. The important thing is that it’s not me, it’s Chelsea, and it has to happen one day. When a person represents so much to a club, and a club represents so much to a person, and that is the case, I think he has to come back.”
Galatasaray’s modest manager Roberto Mancini says ahead of tonight’s game “I did a really good job with Manchester City. I’m very happy to play this game, first of all because it’s here in London and after because it’s Champions League.
We did a miracle in the group because it was really difficult to go through in that group.
Chelsea have a small advantage. I don’t know if it will be enough to score one goal. Tomorrow we will see what happens.
We gave them a lot of respect in the first 20 minutes (in Istanbul). It is important to start at the right level.
Chelsea are a very good team, one of the best in Europe, but in football never say never so we will try.”

SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea, Van Ginkel remains out and Ashley Cole (knee) is not expected to take part, having missed training. Nemanja Matic and Mohammed Salah are both ineligible although David Luiz (groin) should be fit again. Willian and Ramires are both free to play despite domestic dismissals at the weekend, Ramires though, is a booking away from suspension in the next game along with John Obi Mikel.
For Galatasaray, Melo and Muslera are a card away from suspension.

TEAMS
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Luiz, Lampard; Oscar, Hazard, Torres
GALATASARAY (Possible line-up): Muslera; Sarioglu, Balta, Kaya, Telles; Sneijder, Melo, Inan, Kurtulus; Drogba, Yilmaz

LAST MEETING
Galatasaray 1-1 Chelsea (26 February 2014)

RECENT FORM
Chelsea: LWDWWL
Galatasaray: DWDDWD

PREDICTION
In the Premier League, Chelsea have the most solid defence, then again, in the Premier League, our defence doesn’t have to come up against Didier Drogba – and with the Ivorian in the opposition’s strike force rather than ours, that could be our undoing tonight against a side that haven’t lost in their own league since November.

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