Valencia vs Chelsea – Chelsea take on Valencia in the second match of group E tonight at Estadi de Mestalla. While Chelsea came off with a win in our first match against Bayer Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge, Valencia had to settle with a draw away at KRC genk.
Chelsea are coming off a handsome win over Swansea which saw them beat the newcomers 4-1 with Torres, Ramires (2 goals) and Drogba netting in for Chelsea. On the other hand Valencia lost to Sevilla 1-0 but had rested much of their prime squad as they had one eye on this Champions league fixture at home.
Chelsea Team News
Andre Villas-Boas admits he has some tough decisions to make ahead of tonight’s game in Valencia, such is the strength of his squad. AVB has taken 20 players to Spain for today’s Champions League group game, but said on Tuesday that he has not yet selected his side. Romelu Lukaku is ineligible and Alex, Paulo Ferreira and Josh McEachran did not travel to Spain.
Juan Mata makes his return to the Spanish outfit just months after joining Chelsea in August. He will definitely be apart of AVB’s starting lineup. Chelsea should welcome back Daniel Sturridge who missed the game against Swansea after suffering a knock on his leg in the Carling Cup tie against Fulham. Michael Essien is the only long term absentee.
AVB will make changes to the squad that beat Swansea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge, this after he had made it pretty clear that with so many matches happening around its good to have players rotated to keep them fresh So the likes of Lampard, Malouda and Luiz could feature in this tie. Fernando Torres would definitely get the nod after scoring in two consecutive league games and not to forget his red card which will see him sit out the next three premier league matches.
Valencia Team News
Valencia have a near full strength squad to pick from except Mehmet Topal the only player definitely ruled out of the clash. Diego Alves, David Albelda, Pablo Hernadez and Roberto Soldado should all start after being rested in their La Liga game against Sevilla on Saturday.
What can we expect from this game…. This will be definitely the next big game for AVB following our game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Chelsea currently are on top in group E with three points after winning their opening fixture against Bayer Leverkusen whereas Valencia have a point after their hard earned draw away at Genk.
Will Chelsea go for the win or will we settle for the draw is the question I am looking at? With the squad we have and with AVB’s rotation policy I see AVB going in with players that can try and get three points away at Valencia, and why not history suggests that we can achieve the same.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their four encounters with Valencia (two wins, two draws). They met Valencia in the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2007 and then in the group stages in 2007/08. Chelsea have won both of their trips to the Mestalla, each time thanks to a 2-1 scoreline.
Chelsea have lost none of their last six Champions League away games in Spain (two wins, four draws). Also Valencia have a bad record against English sides at their home ground having lost their last three games, two against Chelsea and one against Man U. So stats are on our side but Valencia have showed good football in their last four league matches especially the one where they held Barca to a 2-2 draw.
But just like Chelsea, Valencia are being headed by another young manager Unai Emery (39) who is next young manager next to Andre Villas Boas (33). And Valencia have shown good attacking football under his management.
So we can expect a tight game but it wont be termed as overconfidence if we are expecting Chelsea to win this one. We have the squad, we have the talent which can register wins away from home. Match Lineups will be an excellent indication of what we can expect of. Valencia would definitely want to win this one not just because the game is at their home ground but also because they have just a solitary point on the table.
So get ready for some pulsating action at Stamford Bridge. Come on CHELSEA!!! KTBFFH.
Submitted by Chelsea FC News
