Didier Drogba will renew his relationship with Chelsea when the English side visits his current team Galatasaray in the Champions League.
That will be the central storyline between these two sides. Will Drogba beat his former manager Jose Mourinho? Or will Chelsea continue its terrific play of late?
Chelsea
The English side is atop the Premier League and looks slated to take the trophy in Mourinho's first season back. The team is not getting goal scoring from its top strikers Demba Ba, Samuel Eto'o or Fernando Torres, but has gotten production from star players like Eden Hazard and Oscar.
Chelsea's play in the group stage of the UCL was surprisingly erratic. The team finished atop Group E—as many expected—but not without tremendous difficulty. Chelsea lost 2-1 against FC Basel at home; the team blew a 1-0 lead with under 20 minutes to play. The team shrugged that loss off with a 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest before beating Schalke 04 in two straight games by the score of 3-0. The team had a chance to clinch the top spot in the group but lost 1-0 in Basel. The final game of the group was a 1-0 win at home over Bucharest.
Galatasaray
The Turkish side has surged in the domestic league in recent weeks and could provide Chelsea with a similar scare that it gave Schalke 04 last year in this competition. A year ago Galatasaray tied 1-1 in the opening leg but managed a 3-2 win in the second tie to advance to the quarterfinals against Real Madrid. Despite losing 3-0 in the first leg, the team rebounded with a 3-2 win at home, a sign that this team can compete with big clubs.
Galatasaray renewed rivalries with Madrid in this year's group stage but was easily overpowered by Spain's top side. Madrid defeated Galatasaray 6-1 in the first meeting and 4-1 in the rematch. The team managed a 2-2 draw against Juventus in its second game and defeated Copenhagen 3-1 in the third. A shocking 1-0 loss against Copenhagen, coupled with the second Madrid loss, seemed to put the team on the brink of elimination but fate had other plans for Roberto Mancini's side. Galatasaray defeated Juventus on the second day of a two-day game thanks to a late goal by Wesley Sneijder.
Chelsea Wins if...
Mourinho's side plays its trademark defensive shell and lethal counterattack. The talent level for Chelsea is higher than that of its opponent and it is hard to imagine Mourinho's usual tactics not being effective.
Galatasaray Wins if...
Its star players take over. Burak Yilmaz, Drogba and Sneijder need to play at their best level and create havoc for Chelsea's defense if this team has any hopes of winning.
Prediction: Galatasaray stuns Chelsea with a 2-1 win.
The match kicks off at 2:45 p.m. EST and can be streamed online on Fox Soccer 2 Go. It can also be viewed on Fox Deportes; ESPN Deportes radio is also streaming the match. Live score updates can be found on ESPNFC.com.
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