UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 Preview, Groups F and H: October 19, 2010

Spartak Moscow vs. Chelsea

Aiden McGeady is ready to start for Moscow, which is good news for the club.

The other big news in Moscow’s favour is that Didier Drogba is still unfit and will not be playing against them.

That isn’t to say that they won’t have significant strike worries to deal with, but they will certainly not be quite as much of a threat.

Whilst they do have this good news, they will be without key midfielder Alex, which is definitely going to damage their overall performance.

It is always difficult to visit Moscow due to the artificial pitch, which has been known to unnerve even the most experienced players, and the Chelsea team may struggle with these unusual settings.

Domestically, Chelsea are on fire with the exclusion of the major slip-up against Manchester City and look like world-beaters on the whole. Interestingly, the choice of starting 11 has been delayed until the last minute with regards to seeing how the side trains on the artificial pitch in Moscow—it will be interesting to see how Chelsea fare in these unusual circumstances.

It’s always hard to call games at Moscow. Chelsea are the better side, but they wouldn’t be the first team to be baffled by the playing surface.

Arsenal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Cesc Fabregas has returned to training.

This is something that most Gunners fans have been dying to hear, but the odds of him actually playing aren’t incredibly high, as he is still not match fit and risking him may seem pretty pointless if he isn’t fully fit.

The good news does get even better though: Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner are now both fit, which comes as a more than welcome boost at a time when Arsenal are in the middle of what is yet another injury crisis.

This is a match that most people will expect the side to win, and with their domestic title dreams appearing like yet another distant fantasy, doing well in Europe is paramount.

As they are playing at home against a team which isn’t of their calibre, this is their match to lose, and if they do then uproar is more than likely.

Shakhtar do have the injury of Fernandinho to worry about, but apart from that, they should be fielding a full side. This could be an interesting matchup seeing as the home side still aren’t at full strength.

Let’s be honest—if they were, this match would not be a contest. Still, Shakhtar can fancy their chances and may just be able to swing a draw if they play their cards right.

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