Chelsea lead group stage charge

Two-goal cushions
Chelsea and Anderlecht both hold two-goal leads after the first matches two weeks ago, and both will be confident of progressing to the last 32. Chelsea seem to have the easier task, having secured a 2-0 victory away to Slovakian champions MŠK Žilina, through an Eidur Gudjohnsen strike and Michal Drahno's own goal. Žilina's hopes suffered another blow with the news that defensive midfield player Zdeno Strba is likely to miss the match with a back injury.

First-leg lead
Anderlecht will travel to Poland to face Wisla Kraków aiming to defend a 3-1 lead following the first leg in Brussels, but will be without first-choice striker Nenad Jestrovic, who is out for up to four months after undergoing surgery on a knee ligament injury last Thursday.

Confident mood
Jestrovic will be replaced by 29-year-old Croatian forward Ivica Mornar, while Goran Lovre, Walter Baseggio and Ki-Hyeon Seol are all expected to be fit. "I feel that all of my players only want one thing - to reach the Champions League," said Anderlecht coach Hugo Broos. "To reach that goal, they will go to the extreme."

Finely balanced
Rosenborg BK face a tough task if they are to reach the Champions League for a ninth successive season having drawn 0-0 with RC Deportivo La Coruña in Norway. They defeated Viking FK 4-1 on Saturday and sports director Rune Bratseth said: "We are cautiously optimistic. We have a good feeling after the Viking game."

'Really important'
Deportivo coach Javier Irureta, whose side could be without striker Diego Tristán due to a shoulder injury, emphasised the significance of the game. "This 90 minutes will be really important for me, the club and our fans," he said. "There's an important difference between the UEFA Cup and the Champions League and we cannot forget last season AC Milan won the Champions League after having to qualify."

Home advantage
Tonight's other game sees AC Sparta Praha defend a 3-2 advantage at home to FK Vardar, having secured a hard-earned victory in F.Y.R. Macedonia two weeks ago. Nonetheless, Vardar coach Zotan Stratev believes his team - the only survivors from the first qualifying round - are still in with a chance.

'Nothing to lose'
He said: "I will not even think about the possibility of giving up before having played the match in Prague. Simply, we have nothing to lose, and we are going to the Czech Republic to play some good football."

Tasevski out
Vardar midfield player Darko Tasevski will be missing due to a knee injury suffered during the weekend's domestic championship match against FK Sloga, while striker Agunaldo Braga is doubtful after complaining of pain in his right leg.