Mourinho looks for strong start

Jose Mourinho showed a rare flaw in his planning when he stated yesterday that his team need only one more victory to guarantee a place in the knock-out phase. If results are unkind, two wins out of two could be required.

Yet, it was impossible to fault the Chelsea manager for the attitude he will demand from his players this evening against an Anderlecht team who look to be the competition's weakest link. He knows from recent experience that nothing can be taken for granted.

The Belgian club have lost their last 11 Champions League games, suffered two straight domestic defeats - including a cup exit to a second division side - and have internal problems that saw two players publicly criticise team-mates on Sunday.

Mourinho, though, warned against complacency. Having gone more than a year without an away win in Europe, his side need to end that sequence. "When you play against teams who are not in a confident or happy situation you have to start well, instead of giving them confidence to bounce back."

Mourinho will be without Claude Makelele because of a knee injury and said the Frenchman would be out "for a few more weeks - two weeks, three weeks, I'm not sure".

Michael Essien is expected to deputise as the holding midfielder and there is set to be another start for Eidur Gudjohnsen. He spent seven years in Belgium while his father played for the Brussels club.

"Just driving up here brought a few memories back," the Iceland international said. "I remember my parents saying I wouldn't go to sleep without wearing my Anderlecht shirt, but times have changed . . . When I was younger it was the team I wanted to play for."

Chelsea were uninspired in beating Anderlecht 1-0 in London in September when the visitors' gameplan was defensive.

Anderlecht, though, could take a more positive approach given they need three points to stand a chance of making the Uefa Cup, and that might suit a Chelsea team who can be devastating on the counter-attack.

Guardian Service