The Lisbon Eagle Hoveirng Over The Lions Den

24 hours to the official kick off, Benfica are out to hurt the English league Reputation, with two wins and a draw since their home loss to Chelsea, the Benfica manager Jorge Jesus will certainly look to take advantage the good form of late in order to defeat one of competitions favorites. I know what you're going to say there, Benfica do have more pedigree then Chelsea in the european compititions, but let’s not forget this is Roman Abramoviche’s   Chelsea with a squad assembly that matches that of top clubs in Europe in class and value  .Chelsea’s new appointed manager and former player, Roberto Di Matteo has revitalized the team since his appointment, as Chelsea managed to come back from a two goal deficit and advance to the final 8.

Branislav Ivanovic, who got that crucial goal that saw off Napoli in the last knockout round, has his views on Chelsea being the under-dogs in Europe this season, commenting,

"If people think like that, it can be good for us because we feel less pressure, which in games like this can be very important."
"But Wednesday is a huge game for us. It`s a big opportunity."
"We`ve got a great result in Lisbon, but it`s not over because they don`t have anything to lose."

It must be mentioned that branislave ivanovic, Didier Drogba ,and Raul Mireles all out and injured , David Luis a former player of benfica will also be likely to miss the game .

aimar will be key  to benfica on wednsday

                                                 

Benfica Captain Luisao has been quotes by the tabloids saying:

 "The game in Lisbon left a sour taste in the mouth because Chelsea did not deserve to win and it proved that the team who plays better does not always win," he told Goal.com.
"I do not know if the Chelsea coach reserved players in the first leg, but the truth is that we were the better team and 1-0 was a misleading result after what we saw on the field of play."

Benfica have their own injury woes however, with 3 starting center backs, Eziquel Garay, Jardel and Miguel Vitor all ruled out of the game. Leaving Benfica with a likely 11 of:

 

 

 And Chelsea s line up is most likely to be:

 

   Cech
   Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole
    Lampard, Essien, Ramirez
   Mata, Torres, Sturbridge

Predictions

well it looks like its going to be Chelsea’s front three against Benfica's dynamic attacking midfield .players to watch will be the usual suspects of  Aimer and Gaitan.For benfica  and Torres and lampard for Chelsea respectively. Benfica have shown to play great attacking football this season  managning  to  out play Manchester United  and securing qulification to last 16 .
Chelsea on the other hand have been criticized all season, and the late sacking of villas boas, and Di matteo's limited experience  on the big stage may lead to the demise of the London club s European season. They have managed to win every European match in home grounds however.

I see Benfica reaching the semi finals of the competitions with a a goal advantage over Chelsea.

Final Verdict:

          Chelsea 0                         Benfica 2