Fenerbahce v Chelsea...Live GameCast.....

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Zico: Fenerbahce must beat Chelsea at home
Coach Zico says it is imperative Fenerbahce beat Chelsea in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.

'Fenerbahce are facing one of the most important matches in their history,' said the former Brazil captain. 'We definitely have to win the first match at home. If we concentrate properly we can achieve our goal.' Zico will be pinning his hopes on playmaker Alex in his team's debut appearance in the last eight.Alex scored twice in Saturday's 2-1 victory over city rivals Besiktas, a result that gave Fenerbahce renewed confidence in their battle to win the Turkish title. 'I don't want anyone to talk about the Besiktas game any more,' said Zico. 'Another very big test awaits us on Wednesday.'

Since joining the club four years ago, Alex has scored 70 goals in 116 league matches.

He could be joined in Wednesday's team by fellow Brazilian Roberto Carlos, who has been out injured since the first leg of their last-16 tie with Sevilla.



Midfielder Ugur Boral, injured against Besiktas, is likely to be fit while Onder Turaci will probably play at right back in place of the suspended Gokhan Gonul.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant finds himself in a peculiar position despite collecting five wins and a draw from his last six Premier League games.

A fortunate 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Sunday means the Londoners are still the closest challengers to Manchester United in the title race but there are grumblings of discontent among the fans.

The League Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur and a humiliating defeat by Championship (second division) side Barnsley in the FA Cup have reduced Grant's chances of winning a trophy in his first season. Midfielder Frank Lampard should return after missing Sunday's victory with a stomach upset. Goalkeeper Petr Cech is doubtful with an ankle injury but Didier Drogba is expected to be fit after picking up a knock at the weekend.





Probable teams:



Fenerbahce: 1-Volkan Demirel; 19-Onder Turaci, 2-Diego Lugano, 36-Edu Dracena, 3-Roberto Carlos; 20-Alex, 15-Mehmet Aurelio, 33-Claudio Maldonado, 25-Ugur Boral; 99-Deivid, 9-Mateja Kezman.





Chelsea: 23-Carlo Cudicini; 20-Paulo Ferreira, 26-John Terry, 6-Ricardo Carvalho, 3-Ashley Cole; 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Claude Makelele, 5-Michael Essien; 10-Joe Cole, 11-Didier Drogba, 21-Salomon Kalou.



FENERBAHCE V CHELSEA

Head-to-head record: no previous matches

Previous appearances in last four:

Champions League: Chelsea 3, Fenerbahce 0

European Cup: Chelsea 3, Fenerbahce 0

All European competitions: Chelsea 8, Fenerbahce 0

Leading Champions League 07-08 scorers:

Fenerbahce: Deivid 4

Chelsea: Didier Drogba 4

Fenerbahce reached the quarter-final stage of a European competition just once before - more than forty years ago when they lost in a playoff to MTK Budapest in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup.Fenerbahce are a force to reckon with at home of late, winning their last five European games in Istanbul and remaining unbeaten in 11, in which they have scored 26 times.Fenerbahce have failed to score in seven of 11 previous games against English clubs.Chelsea are unbeaten in all eight Champions League games this season and have not conceded a goal in the last six. They have gone 621 minutes of Champions League football without letting in a goal since David Villa of Valencia netted against them on October 3 last year.Chelsea won 5-0 against Galatasaray in the Champions League on their only previous visit to Istanbul eight seasons ago. They also won their Champions League away leg against Besiktas four years ago by a 2-0 scoreline, but that was played on neutral ground in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.Chelsea have lost just two of their last 12 Champions League away matches.