Predicted Chelsea’s XI vs Galatasaray

There are somethings in football which are not entirely coincidental but situations of greater entropy are bound to happen. Chelsea’s return to the knockout stages of the champions League pairs them with a familiar name, the king of Stamford Bridge, Didier Drogba.

The Blues from West London will be “Welcomed to hell” by Turkish giants Galatasaray in the first leg of the round of sixteen on Wednesday night as Jose Mourinho looks to direct his troops forward in Europe’s elite competition. While Galatasaray have moved to a new stadium, there will be a special atmosphere from the home set of fans who will certainly look to their beloved side to grab an unlikely win.

Chelsea have beaten Galtasaray in their last two meetings during the days of legend Gianfranco Zola, so can Mourinho get the job done and what will be his strongest lineup? We here at Soccersouls have the answer for our readers.

Goalkeeper

Petr Cech is expected to man the Chelsea goal but will be under scrutiny against a very attacking Galtasaray squad boasting the likes of Snjeider, Altintop, Burak Yilmaz and certainly Didier Drogba. The Turkish side can take the skin off any opposition with their fluent attacking style and are more than capable of breaching Chelsea’s defensive discipline. A tough night awaits Cech in Turkey.

Defence

John Terry, whose last gasp winner against Everton made sure the Blues remain in pole position in the title race should play alongside Gary Cahill in the heart of the defence. Both the centre backs have to be aware that they aren’t dragged out of position thanks to the Turkish side’s passing fluency and dynamism up front. Branislav Ivanovic will start on the right and should look to barge up front on every occasion to put pressure on the opposing wingers. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea’s stand out player in recent weeks, should probably play ahead of Ashley Cole at left back.

Midfield

It will be interesting to see with what Mourinho does to his central defensive partnership, will he opt for Frank Lampard and the energetic Brazilian Ramires? David Luiz is certainly an option too. However, Judging by Mourinho’s big game tactics, it should be a defensive line-up including the likes of Ramires, Lampard and Luiz in the heart of the Chelsea engine with the creative Oscar pushed to the bench.

Strike Force

Fernando Torres is expected to lead the front line as the Spaniard who started on the bench against Everton makes a comeback into the playing eleven. Samuel Eto’o flattered to deceive the past few weeks and will be on the bench alongside the forgotten Demba Ba. On the wings it should be the energetic Belgian, Hazard on the left flank and Willan on the other side.