Coral offer several best bets for Chelsea clash with Galatasaray

Galatasaray have lost all their previous meetings with Chelsea by an aggregate scoreline of 6-0. Based on that history an upset looks highly unlikely, but the same was said about Manchester United. Coral offer a number of best odds on the Blues tackling the Turkish champions.

Like Arsenal and Manchester City, the Red Devils lost their Champions League last 16 first leg match by two goals without reply. Galatasaray, managed by former City boss Roberto Mancini, are 20/1 shots to complete a clean sweep of Premier League losses by recording the same result, and a top price 11/2 to win to nil.

Chelsea are odds-on, however, to qualify for the quarter-finals at 2/9 – Galatasaray are 10/3 – and an industry leading 21/20 to emerge victorious from their trip to Istanbul. All this despite Jose Mourinho’s candid camera gaffe about having no strikeforce.

Samuel Eto’o, however old ‘The Special One’ thinks he is, is 6/4 to score anytime and a best price of 11/2 on netting the opener to remind the Blues boss of what he offers. Fernando Torres and Demba Ba, meanwhile, are 7/4 to grab goals if they get on.

Didier Drogba is the major subplot to this encounter though. The Ivory Coast captain, now 35, netted 100 Premier League goals in eight years at Stamford Bridge, but now lines up against his former club for Galatasaray, who are 3/1 for victory here. It’s 9/4 on a draw.

Coral offer great odds of 2/1 on Drogba finding the net against his old Blues teammates here and a tempting 7/1 to score first. His 20-goal Turkish Super Lig partnership with Burak Yilmaz is something to be wary of.

Wesley Sneijder, another player that Mourinho got the best out of at Inter Milan – where they won this competition in 2010 together – may also be another potential thorn in Chelsea’s side. The Dutch playmaker, like Yilmaz, is 11/4 to net anytime.

John Obi Mikel, linked ironically with a summer switch to Inter in tabloid gossip columns before this match, is back from injury and may be charged with stopping Sneijder as Nemanja Matic is cup-tied. Fellow January signing Mohamed Salah is also ineligible for the Blues here.

Brazilian pair David Luiz and Oscar have also travelled to Turkey to boost Chelsea after injuries. Mourinho’s men have failed to keep clean sheets on their last two away outings, but if you fancy them to shut hosts Galatasaray out here, then take 6/4.