Chelsea v Valencia Champions League betting sees the Blues with their last chance to make it into the last sixteen of the Champions League. With no win in their last two matches, following a draw against Genk and then a disastrous defeat in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen, Andre Villas Boas’s men are basically in a one match shoot out now with Valencia on Tuesday night to secure progress. The winner of Chelsea v Valencia betting goes through, while the loses goes out, it is all as simple as that. If there is a score draw at Stamford Bridge, then it is Valencia who will go through, while a goal less draw would suit Chelsea, as long as group leaders Bayer Leverkusen lose on Tuesday against Genk. While there are permutations going on, the basic upshot is that Chelsea need to win. That is the attitude with which they need to go in with, and that is what they need to do. Chelsea’s form hasn’t been great of late at Stamford Bridge, but they actually played a very powerful game at Newcastle in the Premier League winner on the weekend, and played in a manner in which we haven’t seen for the last half dozen matches or so. When the two met on Match Day Two in the Champions League, Frank Lampard had put Chelsea ahead until a moment of madness from Salomon Kalou gave Valencia a late penalty through which they equalised. That was a value two points dropped for Chelsea away from home which may now come back to haunt them. With Valencia finally waking up and thumping Genk 7-0 on Match Day five, Chelsea need to keep things tight and find a way to break down the Spaniards. Fortunately for the Blues, while Nicolas Anelka has handed in a transfer request, and Fernando Torres still looks lost, Didier Drogba is starting to look like his old self a little bit more, and the speed of Daniel Sturridge is still getting him in amongst the goals, so there is some hope for Chelsea here. If the Blues don’t make it through, it will be the first time since the 2002/03 which they will have failed to reach the knockout stage of the tournament.
The two sides have met twice before at Stamford Bridge, and both times the matches ended in a draw, the most recent a meeting in the 2006/07 Champions League which produced a 1-1 draw, and this time around that would not be good enough for Chelsea. Chelsea do have a pretty good home record against Spanish sides, having not lost in their last twelve home fixtures against teams from Spain, and the Blues hold a W7 D4 L1 record at the Bridge. The Blues have won both of their home matches in the Champions League group stage so far this season, a 2-0 win over Leverkusen and a 5-0 thumping of Genk. That is in stark contrast to their away form, where they drew two and lost one. Valencia’s romp against Genk, which included a hat trick for Roberto Soldado in less than half an hour means that they are the top scorers in the group. Their stats going forward in the Champions League group stage are pretty evenly matched with Chelsea’s, the Blues have just had a handful more shots on and off target in total. So they should be evenly matched as Valencia are a good side. They are currently third in La Liga, just four points behind Barcelona with a game in hand over the Catalans, and Roberto Soldado is their main weapon, with nine league goals to his name. The Chelsea back line really need to find a way to keep him quiet, because he has the potential to dump the Blues out of the Champions League.
So it is going to be a tense night at Stamford Bridge and the longer the game stays goal less the more tension will be filtering down onto the pitch. Chelsea can win this match though, they are good enough, but it is not going to be romp and you can only really see them winning by a one goal margin. Chelsea to win by a 1 Goal Margin is priced well at 11/4 with Ladbrokes. The important thing to remember here for your Chelsea v Valencia Champions League betting, is that the survival of the Spaniards in the competition is also on the line and they do have the advantage of being happy enough to walk away with just a score draw. Valencia’s record on the road so far in the Champions League has resulted in a 0-0 draw at Genk and a 2-1 defeat against Leverkusen. The same outcome as Chelsea’s road trips to those two. So it is all down to the wire now for Andre Villas Boas and his first season in charge of trying to get owner Roman Abramovich that much coveted Champions League title. They are going to need the influence of Didier Drogba on the night, who is 5/1 at Bet365 in the First Goalscorer Market, while the ever dangerous Soldado is priced at 7/1 with Paddy Power.
Chelsea v Valencia Champions League Odds
Chelsea to w in: 8/11 at Bet365
Draw: 11/4 at Bet365
Valencia: 4/1 at Boylesports
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