Bordeaux 1 - 1 Chelsea

Bordeaux v Chelsea: Preview

Updated: November 25, 2008, 6:37 PM UK

Chelsea will be without the suspended Deco for Wednesday night's Champions League clash against Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Deco was red-carded in the 3-1 defeat by Roma and misses out along with injury victims Ricardo Carvalho (knee), striker Franco di Santo (hamstring), right-back Juliano Belletti (ankle) and midfielder Michael Essien (knee).

Brazilian centre-half Alex has travelled with the squad after recovering from a groin strain.

The future of striker Drogba has overshadowed Chelsea's preparations and the Blues were refusing to become embroiled in yet more controversy over their Ivory Coast striker after it was alleged that Inter Milan's sporting director Marco Branca had met Drogba in a Fulham restaurant on Monday night.

Reports also suggested that Inter coach and former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's agent, Jorge Mendes, and the player's representative were also present at the dinner meeting.

Although Mourinho later claimed to know nothing about the alleged meeting, Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was clearly on edge when asked if Drogba had met Branca.

"I do not sleep with him (Drogba),'' retorted Scolari. "Where he was last night? I don't know. I am not a policeman for my players.''

But when the Brazilian was asked to clarify if Drogba had been given permission to be in the company of Branca, Scolari's tone worsened.

"Ask Peter Kenyon (chief executive), ask Roman Abramovich, I don't know, I am only the coach.''

Scolari's mood darkened the moment Drogba's future was raised and it certainly will not have helped his preparation for such a vital game against Laurent Blanc's side.

A win will see Chelsea, who are one point ahead of Roma and Bordeaux, qualify for the knockout stages but a defeat would plunge them into a tense last round game against CFR Cluj at Stamford Bridge.

It is a critical moment in Scolari's fledgling Chelsea career and the coach knows it. Chelsea hammered Bordeaux 4-0 at Stamford Bridge but so far in Europe, Scolari's side have yet to taste victory on their travels.

"We need to qualify,'' he said. "We need to get to the second stage. We lost one chance against Roma, this will be our second chance.

Blanc insists his side have to match Chelsea man-for-man if they are to pull off a crucial victory .

Bordeaux are just one point behind the Blues in Group A and they need to win to take qualification into the final round.

"It is actually an easy match to prepare for and to show what we are made of,'' said Blanc. "But if you start looking at Chelsea man for man, it can actually give you a headache.''

He added: "It is a case of us winning every duel, every battle, and so we have got to be prepared and ready for that.

"At the beginning of the group stage, Chelsea would have looked at Roma to be their biggest challenge along with Bordeaux. They are a great team, with fantastic players, but it will be a challenge for both sides tomorrow.

"Chelsea will be full of ambition and we have to match it. But we are going into this game totally determined.''

Bordeaux will be without injured goalkeeper Ulrich Rame but have no other selection problems.