Tonight’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Zilina has been analyzed as a one-sided affair in favor of the Blues. But what if football pundits get fooled by the underdogs?
Well, this question may sound laughable to any football fan bearing in mind Zilina’s dreadful record in the Champions League this season. They hold awful records such as the worst defensive side as they’ve conceded 15 goals in only 4 matches. Zilina are also the biggest home and overall losers in the competition following their 7-0 defeat in the hands of Marseille.
So why would anyone think that tonight’s visitors have a chance of upsetting Chelsea? Well, the fact is that the Blues are going through a shocking moment and whereas the Zilina match offers a splendid opportunity for them to bounce back in fashion, it also presents a great danger. Actually, anything less than a victory for Chelsea will let the media all but confirm that that the big boys from London are in a crisis – at least, on the pitch.
In the first leg of this tie which was played in Slovakia, Zilina’s admiration for their opponents allowed Chelsea to snatch a well deserved 4-1 win. This time round, Coach Pavel Hapal is aiming to lead his team with a completely different approach to the match although their 7-0 defeat to Marseille is still resounding heavily behind them.
“The big loss that we suffered against Marseille in the Champions League was hard to endure,” the Zilina boss told UEFA.com ahead of tonight’s match.
“But, we are now determined to make up for it against Chelsea. What we want to do is to show our quality, although it’s going to be very difficult obviously after losing that big to Marseille.
“What we’ll need to do is to change our style a little bit, compared to what we displayed against Marseille. Our aim is to remain strong at the back and to hit Chelsea on the counter-attack if we can do so hopefully.
“We’ve got four good attacking players in our team. In that case, I hope that we can do well.”
Where will Pavel Hapal’s hopes lead Zilina? To an “expected” defeat at the Bridge or to a giant killing of Chelsea? Let’s see what happens very soon…
So why would anyone think that tonight’s visitors have a chance of upsetting Chelsea? Well, the fact is that the Blues are going through a shocking moment and whereas the Zilina match offers a splendid opportunity for them to bounce back in fashion, it also presents a great danger. Actually, anything less than a victory for Chelsea will let the media all but confirm that that the big boys from London are in a crisis – at least, on the pitch.
In the first leg of this tie which was played in Slovakia, Zilina’s admiration for their opponents allowed Chelsea to snatch a well deserved 4-1 win. This time round, Coach Pavel Hapal is aiming to lead his team with a completely different approach to the match although their 7-0 defeat to Marseille is still resounding heavily behind them.
“The big loss that we suffered against Marseille in the Champions League was hard to endure,” the Zilina boss told UEFA.com ahead of tonight’s match.
“But, we are now determined to make up for it against Chelsea. What we want to do is to show our quality, although it’s going to be very difficult obviously after losing that big to Marseille.
“What we’ll need to do is to change our style a little bit, compared to what we displayed against Marseille. Our aim is to remain strong at the back and to hit Chelsea on the counter-attack if we can do so hopefully.
“We’ve got four good attacking players in our team. In that case, I hope that we can do well.”
Where will Pavel Hapal’s hopes lead Zilina? To an “expected” defeat at the Bridge or to a giant killing of Chelsea? Let’s see what happens very soon…
