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With FC Porto and Chelsea FC both having booked their places in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round with two games to spare, the race is on for first place in Group D when the sides clash at the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday. The home team will also be intent on revenge for their 1-0 defeat in London on Matchday 1. Chelsea's super striker Didier Drogba had been banned for the first three Group D fixtures, the first of which was against Porto at Stamford Bridge. French international Nicolas Anelka scored the only goal of an entertaining game early in the second half with Porto losing Fernando to a second yellow card in added time.

Falcao steered the Portuguese champions into the last 16 with the onl y goal at APOEL FC on 3rd November. It left Porto on nine points, a point and a place behind the London giants for whom the returning Drogba scored twice in Spain against Club Atlético de Madrid. Sergio Agüero's matching pair of goals were also the first Carlo Ancelotti's team had conceded in the campaign in that exciting 2-2 draw.

Porto will be looking to rest a few players considering they are already through to the next stage of the Champions League. But, assuming they are picked, the strike pairing of Falcao and Hulk are always good for a goal. Between them, they have scored 4 of Porto's five Champions League goals so far, with defender Rolando getting the other. Manager Jesualdo Ferreira might also be tempted to give promising 18 year old Portuguese striker Claro his first start on the European stage. An outside shot at a goal could be the right foot of young Columbian midfielder Freddy Guarin who can really strike a good ball from distance.

Carlo Ancelotti will be glad his team have already secured qualification as his squad is going through a mini injury crisis. Frank Lampard and Jose Bosingwa are definitely unavailable for this one while Deco, Drogba and Michael Ballack are expected to get some useful game time in this match after missing out over the weekend due to injury. All three have made the trip to Porto and are in the 20-man matchday squad. Yuri Zhirkov and Joe Cole may also feature in order to get them match fit after long term injuries. Youngsters like Daniel Sturridge, Gael Kakuta and Fabio Borini will also be hopeful of getting a look in at Porto, but that decision is more likely to be based on a pro-Chelsea scoreline during the dying moments than anything else. The Chelsea manager will also have one eye on the big London derby on Sunday against Arsenal and is unlikely to take any risks with injured players.

Another interesting twist in this fixture are the 5 Chelsea's players who have also played for Porto at some time in their career. Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Jose Bosingwa, Paulo Ferreira and Hilario were all Porto products, though of these only Ricardo Carvalho is likely to get a start against his former club, however, one would not put it past an old warhorse like Ancelotti to throw Hilario and Ferreira in the mix.

With both clubs through to the knockout stages and not a lot riding on this fixture, we might see both managers put out attacking starting line ups. The players will play without any added pressure which could lead to an entertaining game for the fans.

Likely Teams:

FC Porto: Nuno, Alves, Rolando, Pereira, Sapunaru, Fernando, Meireles, Guarin, Rodriguez, Falcao, Hulk
Chelsea: Čech; Ivanovic, Alex, Carvalho, Ferreira, Deco, Essien, Mikel, Ballack, Kalou, Drogba

Form Guide: FC Porto (Last 5 games in all competitions: W - 3, D - 1, L - 1)

Maritimo 1-0 FC Porto
Apoel Nicosia 0-1 FC Porto
FC Porto 1-1 Belenenses
FC Porto 3-2 Académica de Coimbra
FC Porto 2-1 Apoel Nicosia

Form Guide: Chelsea (Last 5 games in all competitions: W - 4, D - 1, L - 0)

Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
Atlético Madrid 2-2 Chelsea
Chelsea 4-0 Bolton Wanderers
Chelsea 5-0 Blackburn Rovers

File Photograph Copyright: Crystian Cruz

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