Jose Mourinho takes his Chelsea side to Turkey to play Galatasaray and a certain Didier Drogba in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg.
Venue: Turk Telecom Arena Date: Wednesday, February 26
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT On TV: Sky Sports 1/HD
Chelsea kick off their knockout stage of the Champions League away at the noisy, raucous and hostile atmosphere of the Turk Telecom Arena, playing Galatasaray.
Chelsea will be looking to follow up their dramatic, late and huge win against Everton with a win to take home to Stamford Bridge for the second leg.
Much of the focus has been, and will be, on Chelsea’s Champions League winner Didier Drogba, who is excited and nervous about facing his former club.
However, until the Ivorian returns to Stamford Bridge on March 18th for the second leg, the emotional previews will be left aside.
Chelsea have not played a knockout game since that magical night in Munich, after being knocked out at the group stage in last year’s competition.
Unless something miraculous happens in the second legs of their ties, two of the biggest English sides, Arsenal and Manchester City, look to be out of the competition as they both fell at home to disappointing defeats with 10 men.
This means Chelsea and Manchester United, who both travel away for their first legs, are who English neutrals will be relying on to progress into the quarter-finals.
What these other ties do tell us, however, is that the side cannot afford to lose too heavily and give themselves a huge task for the second leg. However, Chelsea will of course be back at the Bridge for the second meeting.
On the other hand, a couple of away goals for Chelsea could see them have a comfortable second leg, as Galatasaray would need to do at least the same against the Premier League’s best defence.
This could see Mourinho line-up to attack the game, and attempt to win the tie early on.
What we do know, is that Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are unavailable for selection having already participated in the competition for their former clubs, and the latter even scoring for Basel against his new side.
This could see Ramires, who was influential in the win over Everton, line up alongside Frank Lampard, the more defensive minded John Obi Mikel or David Luiz if his injury has cleared up.
In addition, we can expect to see the normal trio of Hazard, Oscar and Willian start, depending on how serious Oscar’s reported injury that forced his substitution against Everton is.
If the Brazilian is deemed unfit, Andre Shurrle could play, assuming Mourinho resorts to the standard 4-2-3-1 formation. A 4-3-3 would surely see Willian and Hazard line-up next to a striker.
More influential than the quality of the Galatasaray line-up will be the atmosphere created by their fans, who are famous for their displays, volume and intensity. A real test for our boys in blue to try and blank out.
Galatasaray vs Chelsea
Pre-match facts:
- Chelsea have won both meetings between the sides in the Champions League, prevailing 0-5 and 1-0 in 1999.
- Willian has created more chances in the Champions League this season than any other Chelsea player (10)
- Jose Mourinho won his 150th game with Chelsea against Everton having managed 225 with the club.
Chelsea vs Galatasaray predictions:
Chelsea line-up: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Luiz, Lampard; Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Eto’o (4-2-3-1)
Score Prediction: Galatasaray 1-1 Chelsea.
