Match Preview: Chelsea FC v Galatasaray

There’s just no getting around it: He’s back.

Didier Drogba has returned to West London. He will once again lace up his boots, pull on a shirt and jog onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge as he has done so many times in his career. But this time will be different, this time he won’t be wearing the Chelsea FC royal blue. He will be wearing the colors of Turkish champions Galatasaray.

Chelsea FC fans have of course seen our former No. 11 wearing this new kit at the end of February when we took a trip to ‘Hell’ in Istanbul, where we played an excellent first half but squandered chances, settling for a 1-1 draw. But tomorrow, Drogba returns to the stadium he called home for 7 seasons, a wonderful stretch that included winning almost every major trophy a team in England can win, including of course, the Champions League itself thanks to his heroics in 2012. He is a hero at Chelsea FC, and the fans will no doubt have many mixed emotions seeing him play against us at home.

Chelsea’s defenders know Drogba well, having played against the striker in training many times over many seasons, but the Ivory Coast international is not the only dangerous player facing The Blues tomorrow. The Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder provides another dangerous presence on the pitch. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho calls Sneijder “one of the best No. 10’s in the world”, and he can provide creativity that can unlock defenses worldwide. Sneijder also has ties to the Blues boss, they won the Champions League when the two worked together at Inter Milan in 2010.

Chelsea will look to rebound from an abysmal showing at Villa Park last Saturday that saw two players and the manager sent off. First, Willian was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for an incident involving Fabian Delph on 66 minutes, then the masked Brazilian Ramires was shown a straight red card for a lunging, two footed tackle on Karim El Ahmadi, at this point an altercation broke out and Mourinho was subsequently dismissed for questioning referee Chris Foy’s decision making. Villa made out with a 1-0 win, putting a dent in Chelsea’s title hopes.

The Blues need to focus and focus quickly, Galatasaray provide a dangerous challenge should the Blues let the Villa game remain on their minds. Chelsea also cannot let any emotional aspect of Didier Drogba returning impact their performance either, as this match will decide who enters the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Chelsea currently have the advantage of the away goal, if the defense can retain it’s shape and hold off the Turkish attack, the Blues should go through. Stamford Bridge should be packed full and loud from kickoff, and I like the advantage playing at the Bridge gives us.

I think Chelsea will come out victorious in what should prove to be a very exciting match.

Team notes: Matic is cup-tied from his time at Benefica, therefore he is not eligible for selection. With Ramires and Willian facing domestic bans, I expect to see them start against Galatasaray, and leave their possible replacements fresh for the coming match against London rivals Arsenal Saturday. I like the thought of Frank Lampard dressing and playing against his friend and former teammate, look for him to take over in place of Matic. David Luiz was seen taking part in first team training today, meaning the Brazilian could be selected for the match, but most likely will be doing so from the bench. Ashley Cole is still out with a ligament injury.

Possible Starting XI:

————————Cech———————–
Azpilicueta—-Cahill—-Terry——Ivanovic
————-Lampard———-Ramires———-
Hazard———-Oscar———–Willian——–
———————-Torres————————

Up the Chels!

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