Jose
Mourinho returns to his former club Porto as Chelsea look to make it two
wins from two in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Blues boss enjoyed great success with the Portuguese giants, leading
them to UEFA Cup success in 2003 before masterminding their Champions League
triumph the following season.
While Chelsea eased to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in their opening
Group G fixture, Porto had to settle for a point away to Dynamo Kiev after
conceding an 89th-minute equaliser.
The sides last met in the group phase of this competition in 2009, Nicholas
Anelka scoring the winner for Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea in the meeting at
the Estádio do Dragão.
Team news
Kenedy is a doubt for the game with a knee problem, but Diego Costa - who is
currently serving a three-game domestic ban - is expected to return to the
side to lead the line ahead of Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy.
Nemanja Matic and Branislav Ivanovic were left on the bench for the clash
with Maccabi Tel Aviv, but started against Newcastle on Saturday and will be
hoping to keep their places. John Terry did not feature in either game and
Mourinho must decide whether to stick with Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill in
central defence.
Thiabut Courtois remains sidelined by a knee injury and Asmir Begovic is set
to start in only his second ever Champions League game.
For Porto, exciting winger Yacine Brahimi is a doubt with a knee injury
picked up against Moreirense - but they will be able to call upon the
experience of former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who could set a
new Champions League record with 152 appearances. He currently shares the
record with former Barcelona midfielder Xavi.
Opta stats
Chelsea have won four of their six Champions League meetings with Porto (D1
L1). They have never failed to score against the Portuguese side.
Porto and Chelsea's three encounters at the Dragao have a perfectly balanced
record: one win each, one draw and three goals each.
Porto won four of their five home games in the Champions League last season,
drawing the other one. They scored 16 goals and conceded only three.
Chelsea have won 80% of their Champions League games against Portuguese
sides (8 out of 10), their highest ratio versus any nation faced more than
10 times.
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