With one foot already in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea will be looking to brush aside FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Blues out to join Tottenham and Manchester United in the last eight
With one foot already in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea will be looking to brush aside FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.
The Blues head into the second leg of their last-16 encounter knowing they have the cushion of a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Victory in Denmark has helped to pave the way for further progress, with Copenhagen required to pull off an almighty shock if they are to make the next round.
They will have to make history if they are to achieve that target, with no Scandinavian side having ever won a knockout stage match.
The omens are stacked in Chelsea's favour, with the Blues having never lost against Danish opposition in Europe - winning four and drawing one of their previous five fixtures.
To add to that, Carlo Ancelotti's side have lost only of their last 25 Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge.
Copenhagen will be hoping to buck that trend in midweek, but no Danish team has ever won a Champions League contest on English soil.
Worryingly for coach Stale Solbakken, his side's away form in Europe suggests they could be in for further misery on Wednesday.
They have lost five of their last six games on the road, excluding preliminary rounds, and will need to be wary of a Chelsea outfit loaded with attacking talent.
A potentially prolific partnership between Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres is yet to ignite, but it appears to be only a matter of time before they click.
Torres will be hoping that happens against Copenhagen, as he searches for his first Chelsea goal, and his last five Champions League strikes have come in the knockout stages.
Chelsea team news
Ancelotti was in upbeat mood at his pre-match press conference, with a full-strength squad helping to improve his mood.
He said: "I am happy because all the players are fit: Alex came back to train in good condition and is ready for the next game [on Sunday], Benayoun will come back to train maybe Thursday or Friday with the team, so every player is fit and in good condition."
Brazilian centre-half Alex has been sidelined since November, while Benayoun tore an Achilles tendon in September.
With no injury concerns to contend with, the fact that John Obi Mikel is only one caution away from a suspension poses the only selection dilemma to Ancelotti.
The Blues boss has hinted that Torres could be handed a rest but, with the World Cup winner desperate to open his goal account, it is expected that he will be involved from the off.
Copenhagen team news
Copenhagen are still waiting on Mikael Antonsson, with Solbakken admitting he will give the defender 'all the chances in the world to be ready'.
Antonsson is yet to shake off a buttock injury which kept him sidelined over the weekend.
His fitness will determine who replaces the banned Zdenek Pospech at right-back, with Oscar Wendt and William Kvist in the frame for a starting berth.
Wednesday's encounter will also see ex-Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer back in familiar surroundings, as he returns to his former stomping ground.
