Drogba: key man

I would think John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho would be more than happy playing against Mateja Kezman.

Phil Thompson
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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIVE
Arsenal v Liverpool
Wednesday, 7pm, Sky Sports 2
Fenerbahce v Chelsea
Wednesday, 7.30pm, Sky Sports 3

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Chelsea will be very pleased with their Champions League draw because Fenerbahce are one of the easier opponents they could have got in the quarter-finals.

Fenerbahce are a decent team and we saw what they're capable of when they produced a fantastic comeback against Sevilla in the last round.

Their goalkeeper was guilty of two howlers to put them behind in the tie, but they had the confidence to bounce back from that and win on penalties. It was quite astonishing.

And no matter which way you look at it, going to play in Turkey is always hard. We say our fans are passionate, but the supporters in Istanbul are passionate with a capital 'P'.

Those fans will sway officials, they create a volatile atmosphere for visiting teams and they put demands on their own players. That makes Fenerbahce a very tough team to beat at home.

But Chelsea are on a roll at the moment and over the legs I can see them being too strong for the Turkish side.

They will need to deal with the hostility from the terraces, but the Chelsea players have got a lot of Champions League experience in the last few years and they should be able to cope with those pressures.

Saying that, I've seen international players come to Anfield thinking they've seen it all - but they can't handle the intensity of it. It just needs a couple of Chelsea players to get a bit hot-headed and they'll come unstuck.

But I think they'll be okay and a positive result in Istanbul would put Chelsea in a great position because Turkish sides don't usually travel well to Western Europe.

At home they'll be a different proposition, but I still think Chelsea will just edge them out.

Not worried

The former Blues striker Mateja Kezman might have a point to prove if he plays in this game, but I don't think Chelsea will be too worried about him.

He's scored a few goals for Fenerbahce, but he's not been a regular for them and he's not really shown his potential, as was the case when he was at Stamford Bridge.

He had a fantastic time when he was playing in Holland, but he's not reached the heights since then and I would think John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho would be more than happy playing against him.

Looking at the Chelsea team, they need to keep things tight in this first leg and I would imagine they'd play Didier Drogba up front on his own rather than Nicolas Anelka.

I remember Drogba coming to Anfield for a UEFA Cup game when he was with Marseille and he was a trojan on that night. He didn't care about the intense atmosphere so he will be key to Chelsea's hopes on Wednesday.

A goalless draw would suit Avram Grant, but I think they might even nick a win. In the last 20 minutes of the game, the Fenerbahce fans will be getting on their players' backs and they'll be taking risks - I think Chelsea can take advantage of that and hit them on the counter-attack.

For Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, the Champions League represents the best chance of silverware this season.

I know Manchester United have still got to play at Stamford Bridge, but I think United are looking too strong and too confident to let the title slip form their grasp now.

I would be very disappointed if one of the four English teams doesn't go on and win this competition.

Chelsea, like Liverpool and United, are in good form and they are playing with confidence - but I wouldn't like to say who'll end up winning it at this stage.

Thommo's call

AWAY WIN - A 0-0 draw would be a good result for Chelsea on Wednesday night, but I think they can do even better than that - they can come away with a 1-0 win.