Stamford Bridge will play host to a Champions League encounter between Chelsea and Galatasaray on Tuesday, the 18th of March 2014.

Preview: Chelsea looking to make amends for weekend defeat

The Blues suffered their first defeat in the league this year, after losing out 1-0 to Aston Villa at the Villa Park on Saturday courtesy of a phenomenal goal from Fabian Delph. The defeat puts Chelsea’s top spot in jeopardy with both Arsenal and Liverpool with the advantage of a match in hand and yet to play Jose Mourinho’s side in the league this season. The match also saw Brazilian midfielders Ramires and Willian receive their marching orders as a result of which the duo will miss the important match against Arsenal next week.

 

Mourinho will now be hoping his side can keep the weekend’s defeat at the back of their mind and focus on a crucial European tie. Chelsea will go head to head against Galatasaray for the second time, after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw. Fernando Torres’ opener was cancelled out by a Aurelien Chedjou goal from close range and even though Chelsea will be disappointed at not being able to record a win they will be delighted with the away goal advantage which might prove to be crucial should the scores remain level at 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Despite of boasting a squad of world class players Mourinho claimed his side was not capable of winning both the Premier League and the Champions League owing to a lack of squad depth in his side.

"Can we go all the way in the Champions League and the Premier League? I think it's very difficult. Our squad is quite short; two of our players [January signings Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah] can't play in the Champions League. Twenty players minus two players is 18, minus [the injured] Marco van Ginkel is 17,” said the Chelsea boss.

"I don't think we have a huge squad in terms of numbers and experience to cope. To win the Premier League we have to win nine matches and wait for Manchester City not to win every match. To win the Champions League we have to beat Galatasaray, we have to beat someone in the quarterfinal, semifinal [and] final.”

“When I say someone, I mean the best teams in the world, so I think both are very difficult but let's go match by match."

Nevertheless Chelsea will be England’s only hope of a Champions League crown this season, with both Arsenal and Man City already knocked out of the competition and Man United’s current form making it very unlikely for the Red Devils to go far in the competition.

However Jose Mourinho’s experience and achievements in the competition bode well for Chelsea. The Portuguese tactician has won the Champions League crown twice, with Porto and Inter Milan in 2004 and 2010 respectively. The former Real Madrid head coach will now be looking to become the only manager to have won the European title with three different clubs.

Mourinho’s counterpart Roberto Mancini on the other hand despite of boasting numerous league title wins during his managerial career, has failed to add a Champions League title to his list of achievements.

The Italian was relieved of his duties at Manchester City last May after failing to progress from the group stages of the Champions League in two consecutive seasons, despite of guiding the Citizens to their first league title in 44 years.

The former Italian manager will surely be haunted by his failure in the competition in the past and will do his level best to ensure Gala make it to the last eight of the competition. But it will definitely be a demanding task to defeat Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge, a venue which they have successfully established as a fortress.

The Turkish side will need midfielder Yekta Kurtulus to be at his best if they are to get anything out of the match. The 28 year old will be responsible of limiting the threat posed by Chelsea’s creative midfielders, in particular Eden Hazard who has been Chelsea’s standout player this season. Kurtulus will also need support from midfield partners Felipe Melo and Selcuk Inan, since only an exceptional display will allow Galatasaray to get the better of Chelsea at their own backyard.

However the Galatasaray player who will receive the most limelight is former Chelsea player Didier Drogba who will return to the Stamford Bridge for the first time since leaving the club after the Champions League final in 2012.

Drogba’s last kick resulted in the Blues being crowned the Champions of Europe at the expense of Bayern Munich and the Ivory Coast international will now be looking to end Chelsea’s hope of a Champions League crown this season.

Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores

Watch Chelsea vs Galatasaray live on Tuesday, March 18, 2014:

In Canada at 15:45 ET on Sportsnet Pacific, TVA Sports, Sportsnet World Online, Sportsnet East,Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West

In UK at 19:45 GMT on ITV Live Player, STV Scotland, UTV, ITV 1, BBC Radio 5 Live

In US at 15:45 ET on Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Soccer 2Go, SiriusXM FC

Fans in Australia can catch the action live on ESPN3 Australia

For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Chelsea vs Galatasaray match page.