Chelsea entertain Ligue 1 champions Marseille in their second Champions League group phase fixture looking to get back on track following consecutive defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester City respectively.
While the last-gasp loss to the Magpies in the League Cup will have been viewed as a mere blemish following the Blues' pulsating start to the season, defeat to City in the Premier League on Saturday will have hurt Carlo Ancelotti and his side decidedly more.
Carlos Tevez's second half strike condemned the Blues to their first league defeat since April but with both Arsenal and Manchester United failing to pick up victory, the setback at Eastlands proved to be a hindrance rather than a disaster.
If anything the meeting with Marseille could not come any quicker with Ancelotti undoubtedly desperate to move forward and get back on the winning trail after the disappointments of the last seven days.
Having comfortably dispatched of MSK Zilina a fortnight ago, Chelsea sit pretty at the top of Group F and will be confident of maintaining their position of supremacy at Stamford Bridge against a Marseille side that have hardly been firing on all cylinders thus far this term.
Stamford Bridge Return
While the last-gasp loss to the Magpies in the League Cup will have been viewed as a mere blemish following the Blues' pulsating start to the season, defeat to City in the Premier League on Saturday will have hurt Carlo Ancelotti and his side decidedly more.
Carlos Tevez's second half strike condemned the Blues to their first league defeat since April but with both Arsenal and Manchester United failing to pick up victory, the setback at Eastlands proved to be a hindrance rather than a disaster.
If anything the meeting with Marseille could not come any quicker with Ancelotti undoubtedly desperate to move forward and get back on the winning trail after the disappointments of the last seven days.
Having comfortably dispatched of MSK Zilina a fortnight ago, Chelsea sit pretty at the top of Group F and will be confident of maintaining their position of supremacy at Stamford Bridge against a Marseille side that have hardly been firing on all cylinders thus far this term.
Stamford Bridge Return
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps returns to his former stomping ground on Tuesday where defeat could see the French champions slip six points behind the top two qualification spots following the club's surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Spartak Moscow in their group stage opener.
After a stuttering start to the new domestic season that saw the Stade Velodrome outfit fail to win their opening two games following the penalty triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in the French equivalent of the Community Shield, their most recent successive wins over Arles and Sochaux will have helped restore belief.
Deschamps spent six months under Ancelotti as a player while the Italian was in charge at Juventus but he will be all too aware that he faces a tough challenge to get the better of the former AC Milan boss when he takes his talented Marseille squad to west London on Tuesday evening.
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea
Didier Drogba misses out on the chance to face his former employers as he continues to serve a three-match ban following his sending off in the quarter-final defeat to Inter last season.Salomon Kalou (hamstring) and Yossi Benayoun (calf) are also unavailable for selection and Ancelotti confirmed on Monday that he will once again not be able to call on the services of England midfielder Frank Lampard with the 32-year-old still struggling with a hernia problem.
Possible starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole; Essien, Mikel, Ramires; Anelka, Sturridge, Malouda.
Marseille
Souleymane Diawara and Loic Remy returned for Marseille in their 2-1 victory over Sochaux on Saturday and Deschamps is likely to stick with a similar line-up at Stamford Bridge.Remy replaced Andre Ayew in the second half on the weekend and, after he created the winning goal for Lucho Gonzalez, could come into the starting XI instead of the Ghana star.
Possible starting XI: Mandanda; Azpilicueta, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Remy, Cheyrou, Gonzalez, Cisse, Ayew; Gignac.
Prediction
Chelsea 3-1 Marseille 
