Chelsea will clash with Valencia at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in a match that will determine which of the two teams go into the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League and which team is relegated to the UEFA Europa League.
Chelsea have not been at their best for the past month now, as they were twice defeated by Liverpool in a space of two weeks.
The Blues manager, Andre Villas-Boas has been under pressure after a poor string of results that saw Chelsea dropping out of the top four for the first time in four seasons and needing a win in their final group match in the Champions League to qualify for the next stage. However, Chelsea have since then scored two thumping 3-0 victories – one over Wolves at the Bridge, while the other came at St James’ Park (I still refer to it at St. James’ Park) over a resistant Newcastle United side.
Things are looking better for Chelsea now and there are three players in particular who are especially responsible for such a huge reversal in their fortunes – Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge, and Oriol Romeu. Mata has been particularly brilliant among the three.
He has been floating around the park like a football god really and has had a hand in 4 out of the six goals Chelsea have scored in their last 2 Premier League outings. Daniel Sturridge has been transformed after the highly successful loan spell at Bolton Wanderers.
The young lad has dislodged Fernando Torres from the staring lineup and it is a treat to watch him play for the blues. Romeu, on the other hand has put in a couple of assured displays in the center of the park that bodes extremely well for Chelsea. He has been a huge hit with the fans – which is rare for a youngster of his age.
Valencia are no pushovers either and they will look to win this encounter at the Bridge, which is a distinct possibily considering the contrasting forms of Chelsea central defender David Luiz and Valencia hitman Roberto Soldado.
The Spaniard is on the brink of breaking into the Spanish starting lineup in place of Fernando Torres, and we have a mini battle of sorts here which should be interesting. Pablo Piatti has also been highly impressive on the left flank while Pablo Hernandez has continued his wonderful form on the right.
The likes of Ever Banega and company will ensure that Chelsea have a nervy 90 minutes in front of their home fans. The defence has also lit up while goalkeeper Diego Alves has been highly impressive in the La Liga in the last couple of weeks in the absence of regular keeper Vicente Guaita.