Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Apoel Nicosia v Chelsea

Apoel Nicosia    v    Chelsea

    Champions League
    Venue: GSP Nicosia Date: Wednesday 30 September Kick-off: 1945 BST

    Coverage: Full commentary on BBC London 94.9 FM & Online, BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live and live on Sky Sports 2

    Michael Ballack
    Ballack has been struggling with a calf strain

    Chelsea will be without Michael Ballack and John Mikel Obi for Wednesday's Champions League Group D clash with Cypriot champions Apoel Nicosia.

    Ballack misses out with a calf strain, while Mikel is struggling with an ankle problem. Striker Didier Drogba and full-back Jose Bosingwa are suspended.

    Ashley Cole has a knee injury and boss Carlo Ancelotti will decide whether he plays after the final training session.

    Deco and Joe Cole, who missed the Wigan match with a cold, also travelled.

    "We have a lot of respect for this team, but we have to return to playing well and have a good direction after the Wigan game [Chelsea were beaten 3-1 on Saturday]," said Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti.

    "Against Wigan it was not a good day. On Wednesday I want to see a good reaction. Not a reaction: action.

    606: DEBATE
    apagogeas

    "We are not worried. We don't think about losing another game. Our thinking is to work hard, to play well and to maintain our play every game."

    Apoel Nicosia coach Ivan Jovanovic knows his side are underdogs but is hoping his side can continue to surprise in Group D after their draw with Atletico Madrid in their opening game.

    "Chelsea are the best team in the group, one of the top three or four teams in the world, and they have a real chance of winning this trophy," said Jovanovic.

    "They have an excellent coach who has already won the Champions League and, for sure, they are the favourites for the game.

    "We have to start the game well and try our best to play our own game, always hoping for a good result.

    "We'll have to exceed ourselves to achieve that, but we have done it already many times before.

    "We'll try to do it again. It's not made easier by the fact that we have four players missing, two defenders and two attackers, but we have to show we can cope without them and still challenge Chelsea.

    "Chelsea have a much better team than ours, that's clear. They are an extremely attacking team and an excellent unit.

    "But they're also a team that can defend well together and play well. They have star players, but the team as a whole is a star.

    "But one of the strengths of our team is that we are excited to be playing in games like this."

    о 7:01 AM

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)