It's seven months since Chelsea last played in Switzerland and a similar result would bring significant reward. In the opening fixture of Group E Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Basel, a defeat which abruptly ended the Blues 29-match unbeaten home run stretching back to Beşiktaş's raid on the Fulham Road in 2003. The result was set into a worse light by the fact the hosts led for 25 minutes through Oscar's opener. We had won 22 and drawn seven up to that point.

The response to it is often more important than the setback itself. Since 18 September we have racked up three straight wins and 10 goals without reply, while the Swiss have drawn two and lost one. Basel are yet to secure a home win in this season's campaign, having lost 0-1 to Schalke and drawn 1-1 with Steaua.

As a result Chelsea need only avoid defeat to book a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League. Undoubtedly manager and players will be determined to make amends for matchday one, though. A fourth successive victory since then would assuage that hunger and also secure a top spot finish in the group stage.

Even if the Swiss champions managed to win again, the Blues would remain top of the group going into our final match at home to Steaua in early December. In that scenario a win against the Romanians would be enough to place Chelsea among the group winners in the knockout draw. Other table-toppers are likely to be Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain.

Torres has recovered from the muscle injury which kept him out of the last three games and will be available for tonight game at St Jacob’s Park.

Steaua must win against Schalke to keep any interest in a Europa League place alive. The Germans, who face Basel in two weeks' time, will hope for two away wins tonight.

This will be our 101st away European game. The win at Schalke was our 37th victory in our 100th away match. We have lost 36 and drawn 27.

Form on the road was a different matter prior to Saturday evening's great success. The way Chelsea's revamped chorus line danced through West Ham's ranks must have given 'Strictly' a run for its money, treating the Boleyn like a ballroom.

Afterwards Jose Mourinho was full of praise for Oscar's intelligence and diligence, Frank Lampard's adaptability and John Mikel Obi's presence and stability in the 4-3-3 formation that was so successful in his previous spell at the Bridge.

As the lone holding player against less adventurous sides the Nigerian provides freedom for Lampard and Ramires. It was no coincidence our record goalscorer hit two to end a run of 10 barren league games. He is now on a run of five in five games against his former club. Five of the total seven have come at the Boleyn Ground, three from the spot.

The Chelsea boss also hailed the performance as the first time his team had remained focused and controlled over 90 minutes this season. Nevertheless he was critical of the inefficiency that might have made the game safe much earlier. It was our first league clean sheet since Fulham in September.

Meanwhile Tottenham's defeat at Eastlands was a pleasant reminder of the last time they shipped six in the league, December 1997 at home. The commemorative song still rides high in Blues fans' charts: 'We won 6-1. We won 6-1. We won 6-1 - at the Lane.'

Chelsea trained at Cobham yesterday rather than on the St Jakob-Park surface that will host tonight's game - a detail of Mourinho's impeccable European planning that has reaped benefits this season.


At this time of year in the beautiful Old Town of Basel, Christmas trees and other trappings of the festive season begin to line the streets. On Thursday the German-style winter market opens on Munsterplatz, with arts, crafts, food and - arguably of most interest to traveling Londoners - drinks. So that's mulled wine, waffles, Lackerli biscuits, grilled sausages - and maybe a few bangers from the players later to settle fates in Group E.

Mourinho has challenged his team to render the final match irrelevant during a busy match schedule between now and the New Year. Like Chelsea, our group rivals have enjoyed mixed results since the last bout of European action.

After drawing disappointingly at home to Steaua, Basel progressed in the Swiss Cup and thumped mid-table Thun 4-1 at home on Saturday evening. (Thun's goalkeeper Guillaume Faivre wore a Cech-style helmet, as if to forewarn the hosts.)
Steaua's only Liga 1 action since the draw in Switzerland was a 1-1 draw at fourth-placed Pandurii Targu Jiubut on Saturday night.

That was their third successive game ending in that scoreline. Since we slammed them 3-0 at the Bridge on matchday four, Schalke have beaten Werder Bremen 3-1 at home and fought back late for a 3-3 at Eintracht Frankfurt.


- Match preview by chelseafc.com (Paul dutton and Rick Glanwill)