Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken has warned Chelsea that his side enter their midweek clash full of confidence.
Solbakken in relaxed mood ahead of European clash
Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken has warned Chelsea that his side enter their midweek clash full of confidence.
The Danish champions are to play host to their Premier League counterparts on Tuesday in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.
The hosts enter that contest as the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, making them considerable underdogs to overcome the Blues.
A lack of action is also expected to work against them, with more than two months having passed since their last competitive fixture.
Solbakken, however, believes the enforced break will have done Copenhagen good and is confident they can pull off a major European shock against an out-of-sorts Chelsea side.
"It's been the longest preparation ever," he declared.
"Since January 10, we have been preparing for this game and this game only.
"Maybe we haven't had the opposition we've needed to be at our best level, but the players are in good shape and confident.
Daft
"Some of my players are so daft that they think they're a better side than Chelsea. Maybe I should be talking them down a bit.
"Some have only lost one or two games playing in this side, so they think it's easy. Confidence is very high in the team."
He added: "Maybe Chelsea's 120 minutes in the FA Cup (against Everton) can even things out a bit. It'll be in their legs. If it's one-way traffic, I'd be very surprised."
Solbakken is also confident that Copenhagen can counter the threat posed by Chelsea's £50million frontman Fernando Torres, who is yet to open his account for the club.
He said: "Everyone knows he's a match-winner, and we know he could be tomorrow, but we're ready for him."
Meanwhile, ex-Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer is looking forward to locking horns with his former employers.
The 33-year-old said: "It's going to be a special night, not so much tomorrow but at the Bridge in three weeks' time.
"We've been talking about the same thing for four or five weeks. We're all a bit fed up with the talking. We want to play now."
