No aspirations of qualifying remain for the blue half of Manchester, but this game is all about pride and the answer to whether they will have a European campaign to look forward to post-Christmas. Dead last in the group with a meagre 3 points from 5 games, Roberto Mancini’s woes in European competition continue after similar dismal results during his spell at Inter.
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With John Terry, Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge ruled out of the game versus Nordsjaelland, Rafa Benitez will again be facing a baptism of fire at Stamford Bridge. He has the taxing task of turning Chelsea‘s European campaign within a fortnight of his appointment. 3 points behind group leaders Shakhtar Donetsk and 2 behind the Italian giants Juventus, the game is an all or nothing situation for Roman Abramovich and his beloved Chelsea.
With Juventus and Shakhtar going head to head in Ukraine, a draw would be enough to see both of them progress. It would mean Europa League for Chelsea this season which keeps getting worse for the Blues.
So it all comes down to this for the Scottish giants. Sheer determination, grit and some overtly brilliant displays from their players have got them to a position where they can qualify to the next stage of the competition. Tied on points with Benfica, Celtic will go up against the giants of Russian football to do the unthinkable. Nobody had given the Hoops any chance of making it to the next round when the competition started, but here they are, with a chance at creating a new chapter in history at Parkhead. Neil Lennon’s men lived the dream of beating Barca, pulling off arguably the biggest upset of the footballing calendar but they still have a task on hand against Spartak.
With Benfica having the unenviable task of facing Barca at the Camp Nou, the Celtic fans will certainly be backing their chances of making it through and the neutral footballing world too would be hoping for a miracle at Glasgow.
A lot of water has passed beneath the bridge since these two sides met at the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi on Matchday 2. Braga’s upset away win now remains the only solitary performance that has got them points in this year’s competition. Braga is now out of all European competitions. The Turkish side on the other hand has turned their campaign around, gaining 7 points in their last three games, which included a win over Manchester United.
Galatasaray now are joint with Cluj on 7 points each, ahead only on head-to-head record. With Cluj facing a tough away game, The Red and Gold machine of Galatasaray should be favourites to advance to the knock-out stages. A close battle remains on the cards.
