Chelsea enter this encounter as the group’s leaders following their narrow victory against FC Porto the last time out.
The Thrylos are arguably the weakest team in the table so you would expect Carlo Ancelotti’s men to get the job done on Tuesday.
Match Analysis
The Blues will be without the suspended Didier Drogba for yet another time in Europe. The Ivorian has not finished serving his ban for misbehaving towards the referee against Barcelona last season. In replacement, Chelsea should have Nicolas Anelka available.
The former Bolton Wanderers striker was the match hero against FC Porto on match-day 1 as he grabbed the winner. T
he absence of Didier Drogba in Chelsea’s initial Champions League games is regretted by the club but Anelka believes that the team can be victorious even without the likes of their star striker.
After scoring the only goal against the 2004 European champions FC Porto, the French man told fifa.com:
"I've been through periods when things haven't been so good and I've had to be strong mentally. I'm enjoying this right now, though. It's so important to make your presence felt in big games.”
And reflecting on Drogba’s absence, he continued:
"It's good that we can win without him but it's even better when he's in the team. We miss him when he's not around.
"We miss his physical impact, and things are definitely different without him. I usually play behind him, in midfield almost. But on Tuesday I was up front on my own. Not that that's anything new for me as I must have played about 15 games like that last season.
"That's the position I prefer playing in because I can get more involved in the game. The more I get on the ball, the better I feel and the more I can express myself.”
Chelsea played ‘ugly’ against the Portuguese champions at Stamford Bridge and this somehow concerned the boss, Carlos Ancelotti, who felt that “the performance could be better” and that Chelsea “have to control the game more” when they have the advantage.
According to Atletico Madrid’s coach Abel Resino, Apoel Nicosia were “serious and disciplined” when they faced the Spanish in the Champions League two weeks ago.
Virtually, the Thrylos could have stolen away all the three points if Constantinos Charalambides had made the most of his chances in front of goal.
A goalless draw was an acceptable result though for the underdogs. They’ll be looking to improve in match-day two, but Chelsea will certainly not make the day easy for them at all.
