Warm-up wins for CSKA Moscow against the likes of Videoton, Kryla Soveotov and Politehnica Timisoara is hardly ideal preparation for the visit of nine-time European champions Real Madrid – and Chelsea must be vulnerable going to Napoli in the Champions League in Tuesday’s picks.
Forget any notion of Spanish sunshine, Real can expect temperatures to drop as low as -5C in Moscow for their round of 16 first-leg clash against the Army Men (CSKA Moscow 7/1 draw 10/3 Real Madrid 4/9 – 90 minutes).
However, the freezing weather is likely to be the only obstacle standing in the way of Spain’s capital club recording a fourth straight away win on the road in Europe so far this season.
Jose Mourinho’s men have also not even conceded a goal away from the Santiago Bernabeu and the Portuguese coach, a two-time winner of Europe’s elite club competition, has too many established professionals at his disposal to worry about the cold.
The La Liga table-toppers ’scored in both halves’ away to Lyon and Ajax in the Champions League already this season, so the 6/5 about the same outcome at the Stadion Luzhniki could appeal.
CSKA will draw inspiration from a record against Spanish opponents which shows no defeats in a total of five games, home and away, but Real Madrid are a class above and a lack of genuine match sharpness means this is a massive ask for the Russians.
Leonid Slutsky will also be missing Russia’s number one goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, meaning Sergey Chepchugov will make only his seventh appearance for the club.
If under-pressure Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is hoping for a kind fixture at the Stadio San Paolo away from the spotlight, he is sadly mistaken.
Napoli ended Manchester City’s hopes in the Champions League group stage and will be desperate to claim another Premier League scalp when the west Londoners arrive in Naples for the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
Since returning to continental competition after 13 years in 2008, the Serie A high-flyers have gone 11 matches unbeaten and, priced generously at 13/10 (draw 9/4, Chelsea 9/4 – 90 minutes), stand their best chance of adding to the turmoil at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have slipped out of the top four in the Premier League and were held to a 1-1 draw by Championship side Birmingham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, while Villas-Boas has been forced to deny claims his job is on the line and Daniel Sturridge has rubbished reports of a dressing-room revolt.
Forget the behind-the-scenes nonsense, the truth is Chelsea are not playing well enough – they have won just one of their last six games in all competitions – a 1-0 win away at QPR in the FA Cup – and the best they can hope for in Italy is to avoid defeat.
This is the stage Napoli’s principal striker Edinson Cavani relishes and he scored twice against Roberto Mancini’s men.
At 11/8, and against a vulnerable Chelsea defence potentially missing John Terry, the Uruguay powerhouse simply cannot be ignored to ‘score anytime‘.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.