Bayer Leverkusen v Chelsea – Preview

Group E is still wide open, Chelsea will be keen to avoid defeat or face being dragged into the possibility of Europa League football.

Michael Ballack is expected to start against the club where he has legendary status, he scored in Friday night’s 2-0 win against Kaiserslautern.

Andre Villas-Boas has left Nicolas Anelka out of the squad, leading to further speculation that he will be leaving in January.

Chelsea are currently top of the group, leading second placed Leverkusen by two points. A win for the blues would guarantee progression to the next stage.

The English club had a comfortable night in London back in September when they won 2-0 against the Germans after goals from David Luiz and Juan Mata.

Provisional squad is:

Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Cole, Luiz, Mikel, Romeu, Ramires, Lampard, Mata, Malouda, Meireles, McEachran, Torres, Drogba, Kalou, Sturridge, Turnbull, Hilario.

BETTING

This game will allow AVB and his team to forget about the Premier League, where the form has not been good. They are 11/8 to beat the Germans, whilst the home side are a very attractive 5/2 to get the three points.

David Luiz is 33s to open the scoring like he did at the Bridge, whilst Fernando Torres who started Sunday’s game on the bench is 6s.

With this likely to be a tight affair, a 1-1 draw could be a good bet – it is priced at 6s.

By Scott Balaam

Twitter @astambridge2far