February 22nd 2011, 7.45pm GMT (live on Sky Sports 2)
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti travels to Copenhagen amid uncertainty about his future at the London club. He will be eager to avoid the same fate as former Chelsea and Roma manager Claudio Ranieri, whose preparations for his Champions League tie took place under a cloud of similar speculation last week.
This is a busy time of the year for clubs who are still involved in European and domestic cup competitions, and Chelsea’s last game was a taxing FA cup tie against Everton on Saturday which went all the way to a penalty shoot-out (which Everton won). Conversely, Copenhagen’s main concern will be a lack of competitive match practice as their domestic winter break means they haven’t played a meaningful fixture since December.
The upside of the Danes’ inactivity is the fact that they will have a full squad to choose from. Chelsea’s new signing David Luiz is cup-tied, while Yossi Benayoun and Alex also miss out due to long-term injuries. Fernando Torres, Nicolas Anelka, Jose Botsingwa and Michael Essien are all expected to start for Chelsea.
Despite their star-studded personnel, something is clearly not right at Stamford Bridge of late. They have returned just a single victory from their last five games, and Ancelotti has already conceded that the Premier League is beyond them this season.
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| Jesper Gronkjaer faces his former club Chelsea tomorrow |
Copenhagen are a well-organised side who currently hold an astounding 19-point lead in their domestic league. They have played six home games in this season’s Champions League and have avoided defeat in all of them, including a 1-1 draw with Barcelona. Therefore the value bet looks like backing Copenhagen to avoid defeat at home again tomorrow against a tired and discordant Chelsea side.
Prediction – Copenhagen +1 (handicap betting) - 5pts
Match odds: Copenhagen 4/1
Draw 5/2
Chelsea 3/4
Copenhagen +1 evens
Related tags: UEFA, Champions League, Match Preview, Predictions, Betting, Chelsea, FC Copenhagen.
