The key for Chelsea at the end of the day is Didier Drogba. Can he give Chelsea an out-ball? Can he occupy the Bayern last third, like only he can? And, can he score? Drogba is back to his beastly best because he has once again found a Chelsea manager that totally believes in him. At his best, Drogba offers so much flexibility because of his unique ability to establish a point of attack from virtually any situation, and his selfless work on the defensive side of the ball-game.

Like Messi and Cristiano, Drogba on his day in unplayable. He is a devastating physical phenomenon. He is Chelsea’s man for the big occasion. Starting with that final group game against Valencia through to the last 16 second leg tie against Napoli and to the semis against Barcelona, Drogba has been Chelsea’s match-decider.

Although Bayern have inconvenient selection posers of their own, they still are the favourites.

The absences of Basdtubber and Alaba do mean Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes will have to rejig his defence.

Experienced Ukrainian utility-man Anatoliy Tymoshchuk seems the first choice to step into defence, though Daniel Van Buyten, who recently played in a reserve match, could make a surprise return. The return of Van Buyten in place of Badstuber, in fact, wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Bayern. He is a big, rugged defender and doesn’t mind the physical stuff while Badstubber is a more refined defender, the type which Drogba thrives against in his close-quarter battles.

Heynckes, bidding to become only the fourth man to win Europe’s top club crown with two different clubs – joining Ernst Happel, Ottmar Hitzfield and Jose Mourinho – also has the option of playing Diego Contento in Alaba’s place or switching skipper Philipp Lahm to the left and starting Rafinha at rightback.

In midfield, the absence of Gustavo will likely mean a midfield base of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos, with Thomas Mueller in behind top-scorer Mario Gomez, and Franck Ribery and Robben on either flank.

That “front four” of Gomez, Mueller, Ribery and Robben are on their day is as potent as any in world football. They are the munitions room where slow, methodical moves crescendo in football explosions. Bayern love to work triangles in attacking areas and put in crosses for their big man Gomez, and with so much uncertainty over Chelsea’s line-up this cohesion alone gives Bayern a big edge.

Gomez by the way has an amazing scoring record, with 80 goals in 90 appearances for club and country over the past two years and 12 goals in the Champions League this season. Those stats would frighten even a fully fit defence.

Finally, who will win?

The match is almost impossible to call, especially in what has been one of most unpredictable European season in recent memory. There are so many intangibles at play that it really would take a brave soul to call a winner.

It really will come down to who take their chances. The first goal will be vitally important. History tells us that the scorer of the opening goal on such occasions more often than not wins.

It needs no reminding too that discipline and composure are imperative on occasions such as this. The last team to score first and fail to win was Arsenal, but they were down to ten-men. Chelsea, as the away team certainly can’t afford that on Saturday.

Bayern will have more of the ball, it has become their way. The German side have evolved into a cultured team that perhaps is only behind Barcelona in terms of their strategic and meticulous use of the ball. The orchestrator of this symphony is Schweinsteiger and it may be down to Lampard, or whoever is the furthest forward of Chelsea’s midfield three, to disrupt him. Mikel similarly will have on put the brakes the slippery Mueller.

This is a theme you may have noticed. Chelsea no doubt will have to be the disruptors. They have to diffuse the emotion from game and frustrate Bayern. They have to plant the seed of doubt in Bayern, who can be rampant once they are in the groove, as their 7-0 demolition of Basel in the last 16 stage demonstrated, but vulnerable when the script turns, as their 5-2 German Cup final defeat to Borussia Dortmund illustrated.

All the cards, though, seem to be in the hands of Bayern Munich. They are at home and have a more settled feel. They are young, hungry and talented and will be looking to write Bayern’s name into football history by winning a fifth Champions League title.

But, if there is one team that can do the impossible it is Chelsea.

This is a Hollywood movie script – the last chance for this wonderful group of Chelsea lion-hearts to win the Holy Grail.

Yes, it’s game time.

Champions League Final Preview – Part 1

Image Courtesy of   FC Bayern München

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Chelsea secured a famous victory on a cold, wet and windy night in London, as Barcelona hit everything but the back of the net in a frustrating evening for the reigning champions. Didier Drogba’s goal during half-time was enough for a slender 1-0 win to take Spain, but they rode their luck as both Alexis Sanchez and Pedro hit the woodwork, and a hatful more chances were missed during the 90 minutes.

There has never been a dull encounter between Barcelona and Chelsea, and this one set a similar tone early on, as Barcelona dominated possession, but Drogba caused considerable problems for the current winners. Barcelona threatened to cut Chelsea open, inside the first ten minutes, when Andres Iniesta found Alexis Sanchez onside, but the Chilean’s loop over Petr Cech came back off the crossbar.

The rhythm of the game was disrupted by a few small injuries, but Barcelona was still in control and Cesc Fabregas should have scored, when he sliced his shot off Sanchez just six yards from goal. As the game progressed past its half hour mark, Carles Puyol and Didier Drogba in particular were in war, Drogba being bundled to the ground consistently, whilst the 34-year-old Spaniard seemed to be struggling with a wrist injury.

Chelsea was frustrating the superstars, but Messi was pulling the strings when he could find space behind the Chelsea midfield. Minutes before half-time he released the ex-Arsenal midfielder Fabregas, whose dink over Cech was cleared off the line by a covering Ashley Cole. Drogba was frustrating Barcelona with a mixture of brilliant hold up play, and poor attempts at hitting the deck regularly to disrupt play.

But right on half-time, Drogba showed his class, as Chelsea broke up field from a Frank Lampard pass, Brazilian Ramires ran onto it and found Drogba, who squeezed his shot past Victor Valdes to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half continued very much as the first had ended. Barcelona was well on top, with Chelsea relying on the bullishness of Drogba up front for some respite. It was all very easy on the eye from the Spanish champions, but there was little to no end product, until a lovely link-up between Sanchez and Fabregas ended up with Sanchez having a shooting opportunity less than six-yards out, but somehow the winger slid the ball wide off the post.

Messi was coming more into the game as time went on, and Pep Guardiola introduced Pedro and Thiago to try and secure a crucial away goal in the final twenty minutes. The slippery surface was catching several of the away side’s players out, as the rain poured down at Stamford Bridge, but Barcelona still couldn’t find a goal despite being camped in Chelsea’s half.

With just five minutes remaining, pretty much all ten of Barcelona’s outfield players were in the opposition half, and Isaac Cuenca replaced Xavi, before Petr Cech made a big save from Carles Puyol with minutes remaining. Chelsea tightened things up even further by replacing their winger with a right-back in the shape of Jose Bosingwa, as the away fans became increasingly restless by their team’s inability to break down the Chelsea wall.

There was still one more piece of drama in the last action of the match. Pedro’s curling effort hit the post and rebounded to an unmarked Sergio Busquets, who put his left-footed effort well over the bar, with an almost open goal gaping in front of him.

That was the last kick of the game, as Roberto Di Matteo’s side held on for a hard-earned victory to take to the Nou Camp.

Image Courtesy of    I am a True Blue – Chelsea Football Club

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After a week filled with the usual stars shining, cross-town rivals Manchester United and Manchester City sit at the top of the standings while Liverpool and Chelsea battle for third and fourth place.

Not coming as a surprise, due to all of the drama surrounding Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger, the usual top tier team is sitting in 17th place. Along with this, Tottenham sits in last place after three weeks, the lowest the team has ever been in the standings in the last couple of years.

Aston Villa 0:0 Wolverhampton

Coming off of an easy 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers last week, Aston Villa went into this week eager to get another three points to keep them in the middle of the standings.

However, it was not the case after a drawn out 90 minutes of play leaving both Villa and Wolverhampton scoreless. Aston Villa controlled the second half of play, but were unable to capitalize on chances against an unwavering Wolverhampton defense.

Wigan Athletic 2:0 Queens Park Rangers

A very hard-fought battle between two evenly matched teams was altered by the foot of Wigan’s Franco Di Santo, who scored one goal in each half to give his team the win. Queens Park Rangers didn’t go down without a fight, with Adel Taarabt hitting the post twice in the first half that could have given the new boys to the English Premier league the draw.

Chelsea 3:1 Norwich City

Being the clear favorites against the newly promoted Norwich City, Chelsea showed their superiority with a well thought win. Norwich City showed signs of upsetting the powerhouse from Stamford Bridge, when Grant Holt scored in the 63^rd minute, Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario made an amateur mistake that almost equalized the two teams at two goals apiece, and Didier Drogba was knocked unconscious in an aerial effort against Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.

However, Frank Lampard scored a penalty kick after Ruddy was given a red card and thrown out of the match to double the score. Finally, Juan Mata scored on his debut in the 90^th minute to secure the win.

Blackburn Rovers 0:1 Everton

Out of all the matches this weekend, Blackburn versus Everton was one of the most entertaining. Blackburn’s goalkeeper Paul Robinson and Everton’s goalkeeper Tim Howard kept both teams in the match, making amazing saves throughout. Blackburn missed two penalty kicks in the match, which were costly mistakes that wouldn’t be seen until a penalty kick was given in injury time to Everton.

Mikel Arteta went to the spot and fired home to give Everton the win.

Swansea City 0:0 Sunderland

Two teams without wins this season were unable to capitalize on their chances to add another draw to both teams record. The best chances came from Swansea’s Danny Graham and Sunderland’s Asamoah Gyan, who both miscalculated attempts that were either saved or went wide of goal.

Swansea, who have yet to score their first Premier League goal this season, have their next chance against Arsenal next week.

Liverpool 3:1 Bolton Wanderers

Liverpool makes a great move to third place this weekend after goals from newcomers Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam help secure the win. Martin Skyrtel also scored in the 52^nd minute to contribute to the Liverpool victory. Bolton’s Ivan Klasnic scored the only goal for Bolton in injury time, stopping the possible clean sheet for Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina.

West Brom 0:1 Stoke City

Confusion between West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster and center-back Gabriel Tamas led to Stoke substitute Ryan Shotton sneaking in and scoring a late goal in the final minutes of the match to steal away three points away from a game that should have ended as a draw.

Work from Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, and West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster kept both teams in the game. However, Stoke came out of the game with the win.

Tottenham Hotspur 1:5 Manchester City

Tottenham found their way to the bottom of the table this weekend, after failing to defend against a stronger Manchester City offense. Edin Dzeko scored four goals helped by Samir Nasri, the newcomer from Arsenal who made his debut with Manchester City Sunday.

Younes Kabou scored the final goal for Manchester City, taking them to the top of the standings, just behind their rivals Manchester United due to goal difference.

Newcastle 2:1 Fulham

Newcastle lengthens their unbeaten streak with two goals from Leon Best. American star Clint Dempsey scored the only goal for Fulham, but it was not enough to secure the win.

With a club that is having a lot of non-soccer related drama, including the confrontations between management and Joey Barton and Nile Ranger being arrested, Newcastle show signs of survival in the Premier League with this win against Fulham.

Manchester United 8:2 Arsenal

With a final score that you would expect at the end of a match versus a bottom-ranked Premier League team, Manchester United ran over Arsenal taking them once again to the top of the Premier League. Wayne Rooney came out of the match with a hat-trick, and also securing his 150^th goal in the Premier League.

Newcomer Ashley Young also scored two goals, while Danny Welbeck, Nani, and Ji-Sung Park scored to give Arsenal the biggest loss it has ever had with manager Arsene Wenger.

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