Chelsea go into their final group E fixture teetering on the brink of elimination. The Blues looked set to cruise into the last-16 after taking seven points from their first three matches, but a draw with Genk and a defeat at Bayer Leverkusen has left them scrambling to qualify in second place.
Chelsea need a win or a stalemate to go through to the knock-out stages. Villas-Boas denied that playing at home has become a problem, although he admitted his side had a better away record.
“I’m not saying Stamford Bridge is a problem,” he said. “But we’ve had good performances away from home. There’s more tension in those games.”
Chelsea’s fortunes in Europe have been in contrast to those of Arsenal’s, who have already qualified for the last-16. However, manager Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal will not take Olympiakos lightly.
“The priority is to respect the competition and to win,” said Wenger who felt that a scenario of Arsenal as England’s only representatives in the knockouts would not be positive for the Premier League.
“That’ll be catastrophic for England and would harm our places in Europe for the future.”
English champions Manchester United will be taking on FC Basel on Wednesday and need to avoid defeat in order to advance.
Barca ready for BATE
With top place secured in Group H, it will be a new-look Barcelona, which faces BATE Borisov, as the team’s superstars are rested ahead of the El Clasico against Real Madrid.
“The only thing I ask is that people believe in this team and value it,” said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola ahead of the clash.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2011.
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