PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V BAYER LEVERKUSEN

TACTICAL BRIEF
Andre Villas-Boas has to make one change from his regular set of starters. Ramires is unavailable following his red card in this tournament against Manchester United last season.

With the Blues' top scorer in Uefa competitions Didier Drogba being eased back from the concussion suffered against Norwich City, perhaps there is only one other major decision the Chelsea manager has to make, off the back of a fine performance for 70 or so minutes at Sunderland.

Nicolas Anelka started at the Stadium of Light in place of Fernando Torres since he had not been away for any international matches. The Spaniard would clearly like to be reinstated tonight.

Danny Sturridge, making his bow for the season with a hand in one goal and a confident finish for the other, must surely start.

Along with Juan Mata, another new signing starting for the first time, Raul Meireles made sense of the system Villas-Boas is introducing at Chelsea. Both circulate the ball with pace, Meireles talking and organising everything from a deep-lying midfield berth.

It's worth noting that the biggest test of the domestic season so far lies ahead for the Blues next weekend. We will have a day longer than Manchester United (who play at Benfica) in which to recover for that clash.

Never the less, the Chelsea manager may still feel that he needs to use his squad astutely to maintain freshness for Sunday.

Stamford Bridge will undoubtedly extend a very warm welcome back to Michael Ballack. He played his second Bundesliga game of the season last Friday and may well start in what will be an emotional return to the Bridge.

With several players returning from playing for their national team, Ballack started in midfield in front of skipper Simon Rolfes, who partnered Lars Bender in the midfield of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lanky Stefan Kiessling played as the lone striker.

Villas-Boas noted in his press conference after the win at Sunderland that tonight's visitors have enjoyed an extra day's rest following domestic league action.

After a poor start their domestic league form is improving, their mixture of older heads and promising youngsters perhaps blending.

Wingers Sidney Sam (pictured below) and Renato Augusto are obvious threats. Nippy left-footer Sam scored twice in Bayer's recent win at Augsburg, while 23-year-old Brazilian no.10 Augusto is unpredictable and dynamic.

The squad has plenty of broader Uefa competition experience in goalie Rene Adler, defenders such as Stefan Reinartz and veteran Manuel Friedrich, midfielders Sam, Rolfes, Lars Bender and the less favoured Tranquillo Barnetta.

But few of their regulars are battle-hardened in the Champions League. Only five - Ballack, full-backs Gonzalo Castro and Michal Kadlec, defensive midfielder Hanno Balitsch and Swiss-Turkish striker Eren Derdiyok - have any previous experience of Europe's elite competition.

Barnetta and Dediyok will be well-known to Chelsea's England boys as they figured in Switzerland's 2-2 draw at Wembley in the summer.

Chelsea v Bayer Leverkusen