Champions League Preview: Chelsea vs Marseille

Chelsea entertains Ligue 1 champions Marseille in their second Champions League group phase fixture looking to get back on track following consecutive defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester City respectively.

While the last-gasp loss to the Magpies in the League Cup will have been viewed as a mere blemish following the Blues' pulsating start to the season, defeat to City in the Premier League on Saturday will have hurt Carlo Ancelotti and his side decidedly more.

Carlos Tevez's second half strike condemned the Blues to their first league defeat since April but with both Arsenal and Manchester United failing to pick up victory, the setback at Eastlands proved to be a hindrance rather than a disaster.

If anything the meeting with Marseille could not come any quicker with Ancelotti undoubtedly desperate to move forward and get back on the winning trail after the disappointments of the last seven days.

Having comfortably dispatched of MSK Zilina a fortnight ago, Chelsea sit pretty at the top of Group F and will be confident of maintaining their position of supremacy at Stamford Bridge against a Marseille side that have hardly been firing on all cylinders thus far this term.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps returns to his former stomping ground on Tuesday where defeat could see the French champions slip six points behind the top two qualification spots following the club's surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Spartak Moscow in their group stage opener.

After a stuttering start to the new domestic season that saw the Stade Velodrome outfit fail to win their opening two games following the penalty triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in the French equivalent of the Community Shield, their most recent successive wins over Arles and Sochaux will have helped restore belief.

Deschamps spent six months under Ancelotti as a player while the Italian was in charge at Juventus but he will be all too aware that he faces a tough challenge to get the better of the former AC Milan boss when he takes his talented Marseille squad to west London on Tuesday evening.

TEAM NEWS


Chelsea

Didier Drogba misses out on the chance to face his former employers as he continues to serve a three-match ban following his sending off in the quarter-final defeat to Inter last season.

Salomon Kalou (hamstring) and Yossi Benayoun (calf) are also unavailable for selection and Ancelotti confirmed on Monday that he will once again not be able to call on the services of England midfielder Frank Lampard with the 32-year-old still struggling with a hernia problem.

Possible starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole; Essien, Mikel, Ramires; Anelka, Sturridge, Malouda.

Marseille

Souleymane Diawara and Loic Remy returned for Marseille in their 2-1 victory over Sochaux on Saturday and Deschamps is likely to stick with a similar line-up at Stamford Bridge.

Remy replaced Andre Ayew in the second half on the weekend and, after he created the winning goal for Lucho Gonzalez, could come into the starting XI instead of the Ghana star.

Possible starting XI: Mandanda; Azpilicueta, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Remy, Cheyrou, Gonzalez, Cisse, Ayew; Gignac.

Drogba May Look Elsewhere

Didier Drogba has hinted that he may not end his career with reigning Premier League champions Chelsea.

The Ivorian striker has been at Stamford Bridge since 2004 when he moved from Marseille.

Drogba, who has two-years left on his current deal, has played over 250 games for The Blues and previously stated he would end his career with the West London giants.

But the 32-year-old admits that things could change, and he told Canal Plus: "When I signed a new contract at Chelsea, I always said I wanted to finish my career here.

"But I am well placed to say that anything can happen.

"When I was at Marseille I said I would finish my career there but, one week later, everything changed."

Chelsea play Marseille on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, and Drogba is upset at missing the chance to line-up against his former club as he is suspended.

But he is desperate to make the second leg in France, adding; "I hope I don't miss the return match as the Velodrome has an exceptional atmosphere.

"I did not think I would miss this game, but that is a lesson in life.

"I have already warned my team-mates about the Stade Velodrone, I said forget about Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, St James' Park - the Velodrome is unique."

Taye Taiwo: I’d Love To Move From Olympique De Marseille To Chelsea

Ahead of Olympique de Marseille’s Champions League encounter against Chelsea in midweek, Taye Taiwo has confessed that he would love a move to the Blues, though he has equally stated that his thoughts are largely drawn by helping les Phoceens to a positive result on Tuesday evening.

Taiwo is a player who has previously been courted by Premier League clubs, and he has never hidden his desire to switch to England at some stage in his career. The forthcoming match is therefore causing him particular excitement.

“I’m so excited,” he smiled to Ligue1.com. “I’ve been waiting so long for this opportunity to play at Stamford Bridge, so long for this opportunity to play against Chelsea and show them what I can do, and maybe at the end of the season if Ashley Cole is leaving, then they’ll be thinking of who can replace him and hopefully they’ll think of me.”

The Nigerian is not content to go to London simply to be lambs to the slaughter.

“We’re going to try to win, and to beat Chelsea, you have to play well at both ends of the field,” he stated.

“We know it’s going to be very difficult because Chelsea are a great team that everyone knows all about. They have good players all over the park and they work so hard. Whenever you lose the ball, you have to stay compact, but at the same time, you can’t go there to defend either.”

Having lost against Spartak Moscow at Stade Velodrome in their opening encounter, OM won’t want to begin their campaign with successive defeats, as they did in Ligue 1.

Jon Obi Mikel Insists Manchester City Defeat Will Not Derail Chelsea

Jon Obi Mikel is convinced the defeat to Manchester City will not derail Chelsea's bid for silverware.

Mikel, 23, has played a key role in the Blues' stunning start to the Premier League season. They, however, suffered a blip at Eastlands as they fell to a sole Carlos Tevez strike.

Speaking to the club's official website, Mikel insisted his team-mates were set to get back on track in Tuesday night's Champions League clash against Marseille.

He said: "We knew one day in one game this would happen but we went out there to win the game.

"We played very well but obviously we didn't handle the counter-attack, but we knew there would be hard times in the season and that was one of them.

"We have to keep our head up. We have to keep training, keep working hard and on Tuesday we'll go out to win the game. That loss won't be a distraction to any of the players.

"We knew there would be difficult games and that was one. Obviously we lost the game but it is not the end of the season, we have to keep going. We have to come back from this game, play well, focus and do things well that we didn't do right in the last game.

"With this team when we lose a game we try to come back in the next game. Tuesday’s game will be the start of it.

"We will go out there, give a good performance, create chances and score some goals."

Ancelotti: Attacking With Anelka

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed Frank Lampard will not take part in Chelsea's game against Marseille on Tuesday night.

Our midfield maestro needs more time to recover before playing and is not expected to take part in Sunday's clash with Arsenal, nor represent England during the international break.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash, Ancelotti said John Terry will start the game as well as Nicolas Anelka, while Didier Drogba misses the fixture due to his two-match ban.

'Lampard can't play on Tuesday. If he doesn't play with us, he is not able to play for the national team.

'He needs more time than we expected for his rest. After these games there will be an international break and he will be ready for the games after the international break.

'For now we have to choose [who else to play] up front. Sure we will start [Florent] Malouda and Anelka but we will have to choose the right position up front.

'It could [Daniel] Sturridge or [Gael] Kakuta, I could put these two players in, they are ready.

'From the beginning, McEachran will go on the bench; he will be ready to go onto the pitch if it is necessary. John Terry will play.'

Questions were raised over Anelka's mind set going into the game, following a turbulent time with France during the World Cup.

But knowing the striker better than most, Ancelotti insisted the striker will not be affected by the fact our opponents are from his homeland, nor that the game will be live on French television.

'Nicolas is always quiet,' reported the manager. 'I don't think he will be afraid or scared because the game is on French television. He is in a fantastic moment and he will play for the team as he always does.

'He is able to play in every position up front. For his kind of skills he is perfect to play up front because he has speed, he has quality and he can support the players who come back from midfield.

'He is a fantastic striker for this reason. He is able to play in every position on the pitch.'

Having managed former Blue Didier Deschamps for six months while at Juventus, Ancelotti knows the opposition manager well, and the way his side plays.

However, the Italian was keen not to single out one individual Marseille player as a threat to Chelsea.

'OM [Olympique Marseille] is a good team, with good organization,' said Ancelotti. 'They use attacking play and they are quick.

'We know everything about the individual skills they have but it is difficult to say who is the most dangerous. Usually the most dangerous players are the strikers.

'My players will know everything about the opponent but the most important thing is our play. Obviously we will know the skills of the opponent's team but we must play our way. If we play our best, we will win.'

The game comes on the back of consecutive defeats, which could spur the side into action, but Ancelotti believes the Blues will not think of the previous performances when playing tomorrow night.

'I don't ask them to have a reaction,' insisted the Italian. 'We just have to play our football.

'We have to pay attention and get the points from this game. I don't need to see a reaction from my players; they will have a good game because it is an important game for us to arrive at the top of the group. It is just for this.'

Reserves Report: Chelsea 3 - 1 Liverpool

Nathaniel Chalobah, Fabio Borini and Adam Phillip were the scorers in a deserved league win over Liverpool at Cobham on Monday afternoon, following up well on an away win at Newcastle earlier this month.

Chalobah's goal was the first at this level for the 15-year-old; Borini's strike was the best of the game and Phillip repeated his feat at St James Park of scoring having come on as a sub. Two of the goals came from Gokhan Tore assists.

Chelsea were down to 10 men by the time the third goal went in during the final quarter of an hour, Liverpool having pulled their goal back to make it 2-1 just before the break.

Jose Bosingwa continued his comeback from injury with 70 minutes in this game and the Portuguese international right back was forward early on supplying an over-hit cross and then a shot, but it was Tore who first tested the Liverpool keeper with a low effort.

Martin Hansen, the man between their posts, soon had to react sharply to keep out a Borini shot which he saved onto the near post.

Liverpool were then asked to survive a succession of goalmouth scrambles, the closest they came to conceding coming from a Borini shot which pushed over from close range.

Chelsea had started well but were fortunate when they left Danny Wilson unmarked at the far post but the Liverpool centre-back headed a Jonjo Shelvey cross over.

The Blues were soon back down the other end and Sala almost forced one of the Merseysiders' defenders to slice a cross into his own net. From the corner, the home team scored, Chalobah meeting Tore's delivery to head down into the turf, the ball bouncing high and into the net despite the presence of a man on the post.

On 25 minutes Steve Holland was forced into a change when Milan Lalkovic on the run appeared to pull a hamstring. Kaby came on as a direct replacement.

Jan Sebek in the Chelsea goal saved on 27 minutes when Billy Clifford, who initially had done well to cover back and win the ball, gave it to David Amoo. But again Chelsea responded well to a chance allowed to our opponents.

A swift attack was finished off by Borini who received a good pass from Tore and finished it with style, shooting across the keeper and just inside the far post. Twenty-seven minutes had been played and Liverpool were finding it hard to get hold of the ball.

Bosingwa showed he is still not quite up to full speed as he struggled to keep pace with the powerful Amoo down the flank on one run but the cross came to nothing.

However on 42 minutes Liverpool crossed again from the left and this time Rohan Ince's clearance was poor, Fernandez finding the net from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.

Danny Pappoe had a firm header cleared off the line near the beginning of a second half that begun with two Chelsea changes. Adam Phillip came on for Tore who had been struggling with an injury before the interval, and Aziz Deen-Conteh replaced Jacob Mellis, that one aplanned sub due to Mellis's presence in tomorrow's Champions League squad.

Liverpool nearly scored an equaliser that wouldn't have reflected the balance of the game when Sebek failed to meet a corner and the ball was headed wide just at the far post, and Pappoe conceded a foul for which he was booked as the Blues play lost a little of its impetus.

There was a save from Kaby from a tight-angle as the home side did stretch Liverpool at the back just beyond the hour before the scheduled removal of Boswinga on the back of the Mellis substitution and two injuries meant a man disadvantage for the final 20 minutes.

The 10-men continued to look strong and the game was made safe on 77 minutes when Borini made the most of a great ball by Billy Clifford into the corner, skinning the full back and crossing low for Phillip's first-time finish that went in via a deflection off Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom.

The away team, understandably given their numerical advantage, had the better of the final minutes but couldn't find a way through the imposing Pappoe/Ince central defence. There was much for manager Steve Holland to be pleased about against a club traditionally strong at this level.

Abramovich Building Private Nightclub Under Stamford Bridge

When you've already got a £300 million yacht, what else is there to spend your money on besides a private night club nestled under your football club's stadium?

According to the London Evening Standard, Abramovich is building a £20 million nightclub under Stamford Bridge's East Stand -- where the garish and overpriced Purple nightclub once was.

Work on the luxuriously appointed space, which has capacity for up to 500 “close friends”, is at an advanced stage and could be complete by December.

The venue — complete with a four-metre-high waterfall and hydraulically-operated stage — is likely to be mainly for the Russian billionaire's own entertainment use but could also be rented out for parties, according to Building magazine.

The centrepiece of the space, which will have what the source called “a gritty industrial design motif”, is a waterfall that will greet guests when they enter and descend the staircase at the entrance. It cost an estimated £150,000 to install.

Given the problems that arise when footballers go out at night, this could prove to be a genius way to corral and contain their exploits. Plus, when Roman makes it rain around club-goers who aren't "close friends" it can get messy.