Chelsea's home rule leaves APOEL wary

Having clinched victories in their first two home games without conceding a goal, section winners Chelsea FC will be aiming to round off their Group D campaign in style when they host APOEL FC on Matchday 6.

• While the London club qualified for their seventh consecutive knockout phase and made sure of first place thanks to a 1-0 win at runners-up FC Porto on Matchday 5, APOEL drew 1-1 at home with Club Atlético de Madrid. To overhaul their third-placed Spanish rivals and seal progress to the UEFA Europa League round of 32, APOEL must better the result obtained by Atlético at home against Porto.

Previous meeting
• When the rivals crossed paths on 30 September, Chelsea had to endure a few late scares as a determined APOEL side tried to cancel out Nicolas Anelka's opening goal. That strike nonetheless proved enough to win the day and earn Carlo Ancelotti's team a second successive 1-0 victory in the section.

• It was the first time the teams had met and also the first time each had faced clubs from their opponents' country.

Match background
• Chelsea's 100 per cent record in their first two home games extended their unbeaten UEFA Champions League run at Stamford Bridge to 20 outings, 15 of which ended in a victory for the Blues.

• Eleven goals have been conceded in those 20 unbeaten encounters, four of which came in a single match, the 4-4 draw with Liverpool FC in last season's quarter-final second leg.

• Chelsea's last home defeat came in February 2006, when FC Barcelona won 2-1 in the first knockout round.

• The London club have won nine times, drawn twice and conceded just two goals in their eleven group games at Stamford Bridge over the last four campaigns.

• In eight previous competitive meetings between English and Cypriot clubs, seven have ended in English wins. The 2007/08 UEFA Cup first-round tie between Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC finished 1-1 in Cyprus after Tottenham had won the first leg 6-1.

Team ties
• APOEL midfielder Nuno Morais signed for Chelsea from FC Penafiel in August 2004, soon after José Mourinho had taken charge of the London club. He made his debut in an FA Cup victory against Scunthorpe United FC in January 2005 but made only two subsequent appearances in the Premier League, against Manchester United FC and Everton, before joining APOEL in May 2007.

• Michael Ballack scored Germany's goal in a 1-1 draw against Cyprus at the GSP Stadium in a UEFA EURO 2008™ Group D qualifier on 15 November 2006. Marios Elia, Constantinos Charalambides and Chrysostomos Michail were on the opposite side, with Michalis Morfis an unused substitute.

• Charalambides and Marinos Satsias also featured in a 4-0 defeat by Germany in the reverse fixture on 17 November 2007.

• Petr Čech appeared for the Czech Republic when they beat Cyprus 1-0 in Liberec in a UEFA EURO 2008™ Group D qualifier on 28 March 2007. Satsias, Elia and Charalambides all took to the field for the visitors that day. Satsias and Charalambides were also in the Cyprus team that lost 2-0 at home to the Czechs on 21 November 2007.