Villas-Boas' Chelsea reach crucial point in season

Chelsea hosts in-form Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday in what could turn out to be the most crucial match of Andre Villas-Boas' debut season as Blues coach.

With Chelsea 10 points off the Premier League lead and eliminated from the League Cup, defeat to Valencia would effectively leave Villas-Boas with only the FA Cup to aim for.

Villas-Boas says Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will give him more time but that is not what the Blues expected when they prized the Portuguese from FC Porto at the end of last season.

The winner at Stamford Bridge would advance to the next round and the loser will be eliminated. If the teams draw, much will depend upon the result of the other Group E match between Bayer Leverkusen and Genk.

"You have to remember it's the manager's first season in the Premier League," Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said. "It's not easy for him and it isn't easy for the players or the club. But everything is coming together for the manager. He can deal with any pressure. You don't rise to his level in coaching if you are not strong."

Villas-Boas won the Europa League with Porto but is trying to overhaul an aging Chelsea squad while maintaining the high standards set by predecessors Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

Chelsea has not failed to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League since Abramovich bought the west London club in 2003.

Daniel Sturridge, Drogba and Juan Mata look likely to start up front against Valencia, which is on a high after beating Genk 7-0 in its last Champions League match. Striker Roberto Soldado came off the bench to score a late winner in a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on Saturday, keeping Valencia in touch with leading pair Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Spanish league.

Back-to-back 3-0 wins in the Premier League have lifted Chelsea to fourth place, but the Blues have still lost three of their last five matches including the 2-1 Champions League defeat at Bayer Leverkusen that has left them teetering on the brink of elimination.

Chelsea led 1-0 in Germany before conceding to Eren Derdiyok and Manuel Friedrich in the last 18 minutes as the Bundesliga side clinched a place in the next round with a 2-1 win.

Simply put, Chelsea must win to guarantee progress.

"The pressure is on us. We normally don't have too many problems in the group stages but this is why people love football," Drogba said. "It's going to be tough, certainly a different situation from what we're used to, but in a way it will be just like some of the huge Champions League games we've had in recent years."

The 26-year-old Soldado has scored nine league goals for Valencia to go with five in the Champions League, making a strong case to be picked for Spain's European Championship squad.

Coach Unai Emery constantly tinkers with his starting 11 but it is likely that Soldado will start alongside Brazil international Jonas, with the speedy Jordi Alba playing wide. Alba's breakthrough season has already earned him a call-up to the Spain team.

"It is an important game, like a final, and we are very motivated to play it," Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves said. "It is perhaps the most important game of my career.

"We don't go with pressure, rather we head in with a lot of confidence. Any result is within our reach."

If Leverkusen beats eliminated Genk, a scoreless draw would be enough to carry Chelsea through courtesy of the away goal it scored in a 1-1 draw at Valencia in September. A scoring draw would take Valencia through on goal difference.

But if Genk shocked the German side, Leverkusen, Chelsea and Valencia could all finish on nine points and even a 0-0 draw would not be enough for the Blues.

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