I just can’t wait for this match but the pity is I wont be watching this match live. The sports channel that I susbsribe to, would show only the Roma vs Man Utd match live. That’s kind of natural knowing Man Utd has a huge fan base across the world and showing their match is going to get them more viewership. I’ve been waiting for this day, but I can only see the live text updates while I’ll be crushing Valencia in ‘Winning Eleven 10′ with my mates.

Some more good news from Spain. Ruben Baraja, Edu and Mario Regueiro have all been sidelined due to injury. That does not make too much of a difference as they have enough quality to manage their absence. Joe Cole still claims that he is fit and would love to play against Valencia. May be, Jose could unleash him as his surprise trump card. It’ll be great to see Joe coming in at 70 minutes and worsen Valencia’s second half goal conceded records.

Barring one or two, we have all the key players that we would hope to be fit and ready for this match. Bridge will also be back but I dont see too much value his readiness might add to the squad. Mikel should once again play in defensive midfield which allows Essien to push forward in attack. Mikel did a great job against the Spurs in the FA Cup match. He exactly stuck to his role and prevented a lot of attacks while not acting as a goal threat himself. Cech will have to have a very good day in office. He alongwith Mikel would be the most crucial in ensuring a clean sheet for Chelsea. Essien is just one card away from being suspended, thanks to the genereous refereeing in the Bremen match. As we cannot afford to miss Essien, if we get to some kind of comfortable situation, we should sub him for SWP.

Playing against a Spanish team, Ballack should feel more comfortable as he wont have players making two lunges, just when he touches the ball from 50 yards from goal. He should play as the attacking tip of the diamond as I dont seem him fitting anywhere else now in the squad. To have him on either side of the midfield truly slows down the tempo of our game and if he is the attacking tip, he can do what he does best - blast his screamers to the top corners.

Drogba is still looking for his 30th goal of the season. There is no better occasion to do this than getting in this vital match in front of the home crowd. Shevchenko has been instrumental in some of recent wins. Like Jose says Sheva’s contribution has been improving every match, not only through goals but also through his assists and the part he plays in the attacks and also his defensive play is improving. At the beginning of the season, you wouldnt have seen Sheva making tackeles to win the ball in the midfield or in defence. Now, he is on course to become a Drogba kind of complete utility player.

What would Jose be thinking? What would be the result that he would be happy with? He would not like us to concede an away goal for sure. I dont think he would be content with a 1-0 win. If we get a lead, after 10-15 minutes of consolidation, he would push us for the second goal. With a 1-0 win, the game in Mestalla could be very very tricky. On the other hand, if we get a 2-0 win, it could be game over for Valencia as coming back from a 2-0 away loss against Chelsea’s defence and organisation is way too difficult. If it turns out to be a 2-1 win for us, the game is wide open with Chelsea having an edge. I’m not even talking about a draw or anything else here.

I expect to see a 2-0 win for Chelsea with goals to Sheva and Drogba.