Chelsea are destined to progress. We have a fully fit squad (Sheva deserves special mention) against an Olympiakos team that misses two of their very key players – Galletti and Lua Lua. Despite being blessed with the easiest of the champions league draws, we could not score that away goal which puts us in tricky position. Tricky position? Read the first line again.

What should be the tactic for this game? We are fresh from a confidence boosting 4-0 win. It’s easy to get carried away and go attack them like crazy at the Bridge. But I don’t think that’s a wise thing. Olympiakos played lot better in the first leg than I thought they would. They play direct football, neat passes, not clumsy at all, know where their players and how they move. They create opportunities by choice and not by chance. All said, they don’t have Galletti and Lua Lua and what’s worse is they don’t have multi-million subs on the bench.

I don’t think Olympiakos would try to defend as it does not seem to be their natural game and also only defending against Chelsea at the Bridge is never wise. There were only very few occasions where Chelsea have not been able to score at the Bridge. And when a goal or two is going to promise their progression in champions league, you can bet on them to find the net.

chelsea-team-vs-olympiakos.jpgI’d go for a conservative 4-4-2 as not conceding as as important as scoring in this match. Remember, if Olympiakos gets one goal, we need to score two. If the match stays goalless by half time and if they score once in the second half, we might put ourselves in some kind of pressure while they would happily shut shop. That’s why I’d play 4-4-2 with Maka certainly in the starting line up. It is the right kind of game for him – not champions league, playing at Stamford Bridge, against a weaker team – he will come out trumps.

I’d surely have Terry and Carvalho as centre backs, Belletti and Ashley Cole as well. I rate Ashley Cole better than Wayne Bridge on defensive attributes. This match being one where we cannot afford to concede, I’d pick Ashley. Joe Cole should be an automatic inclusion, thanks to his cameo in the cup final and his performance against West Ham. Essien should also play in the midfield in non-defensive role and can change based on match situations. I’d choose only one of Lampard and Ballack for this match. On form, I’d choose Ballack. Or Grant might think that, anyway Lampard’s going to miss three domestic matches because of the red card, so let him play in champions league! Possible!

I particularly fear that we might let one in a set piece. We would have our first choice back four but still I’m not too convinced about our set piece defending. I think Olympiakos will look at this game very objectively. They start as clear underdogs. Even if they had won their home leg, they would still start here as underdogs. They are missing their key players in attack. They would know that a goal is all they need, from somewhere or anywhere. Expect a lot of diving and feigning and rhythm-breaking incidents. If they score early they still won’t be safe as we have a team that can score three goals in one half too.

I predict a 2-0 win for Chelsea and if we score those two in the first half, I’ll go for one more.

Arsenal take on Milan at the San Siro. Kaka is still a doubt and Milan still will have to play with their third choice keeper who played his last competitive match in 2003 before the first leg. If van Persie is back in time, Arsenal should fancy their chances. I’ll go for a Milan win with a solitary goal. Barca should overcome their weekend debacle with a neat win over Celtic. Real Madrid should finish off Roma’s challenge. Roma were/are very threatening but I somehow don’t see this Real Madrid team faltering at this stage. Sevilla should see off Fenerbahce and Porto will progress too.

After we progress, a draw of Porto or Sevilla would do nicely. See I’m thinking about the draw for quarterfinals already. Tells you how much I expect us to win! And finally, don’t forget to check out BC Shout!