Chelsea FC fullback Branislav Ivanovic spoke to the media ahead of the Champions League clash with NK Maribor and said that he expects a tough fight from the Slovenian club. Maribor were embarrassed when they made the trip to Stamford Bridge but everything went Chelsea FC’s way in that match. Loic Remy scored an early goal before being subbed off and the Blues never looked back as they seemed to score with every chance they had.
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Maribor on the other hand was unlucky as Thibaut Courtois made a few key saves to deny them early on and soon enough the match was out of their hands by half-time. The Slovenian club has proven to be a tough out this year against Schalke 04 and Sporting CP and they could bring that same intensity that Branislav Ivanovic is so wary of when they take on the Blues at home.
Branislav Ivanovic on expecting a fight from NK Maribor and the need for Chelsea FC to keep up their form:
"“It is very important for us to finish the group well and get first place as soon as possible but this will be a difficult game for us, different to the game in London. We expect a tough opponent. I hope we will approach the game as we did two weeks ago. It will be a different game, 100 per cent. In London we scored at the right moment and got the second, and were able to control the game. But they had a good spell. The game we won 6-0 makes it harder for us this time.We are doing very well but there is five months until the season ends. We know what we have to do. We have the opportunity to still improve our game. We know the winter can be difficult. There are hard games, and they change slightly with different pitches, in different atmospheres. We must learn from previous years. At the moment we are stronger but we are not relaxing.”Source: The Daily Mail"
Branislav Ivanovic and Chelsea FC can all but assure themselves a trip to the round of 16 with a win tomorrow and can take a big step towards clinching the top spot in Group G. With Schalke losing their best player in Julian Draxler to injury and facing a tough trip to Lisbon to face Sporting CP this an excellent opportunity for the Blues.
Guaranteeing qualification and the top spot would allow Jose Mourinho to rotate the squad for the final two group stage matches and would help the Blues stay fresh for what is always a tough winter period of the season. With leaders like Ivanovic in the squad, focus should not be an issue and hopefully the Blues can take care of business in a very hostile environment on Wednesday.
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