Chelsea going for jugular in Transylvania

LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI has demanded Chelsea’s “football machine” dish out a stiff Champions League reality check to European minnows CFR Cluj tonight.

The Romanian double-winners produced a shock 2-1 victory away at Roma on their Champions League debut a fortnight ago and tonight promises to be the biggest night in the club’s 101-year history.

As a result, Scolari has been cautioning “respect for a dangerous opponent”, and he even went so far as to say it would not be a surprise if Chelsea lost in the three-sided Dr Constantin Radulescu stadium.

But, in reality, unbeaten Chelsea are homing in on a ninth straight victory that would take them a giant step closer to qualifying for the second round.

“We have made a very good start to the season. Cluj are more confident than before because they beat Roma and they have good players – but we know that if we are to reach the second round we need to win,” said Scolari.

“When you win games you have more confidence, you are more strong. If we win tomorrow we have one foot in the second round.

“I think it will need 10 points to qualify and if we win tomorrow we would just need four more from four games.

“We want to reach the final and to win the final so it is a very good situation for us.”

Yesterday, Scolari was at pains to point out the qualities of a Cluj side packed with South Americans and Portuguese players, many of whom are familiar to him and have a point to prove.

“The attention of the world is not on Cluj, it is on Chelsea but their players want to change that. They want to show the world they are good players and catch the eye of other clubs,” said Scolari.

“They need respect. We win many games in England now because we respect the opposition team. I have shown my players a DVD about Cluj. If they win against Chelsea it is because they are better. It is not a surprise.”

But it would be a major surprise to the Transylvanian locals, 25,000 of whom will pack into the stadium and create a bear-pit of an atmosphere.

Joe Cole has not travelled with Chelsea to Romania for the tie after failing to recover from a thigh injury.

He joins Deco (thigh) and defender Ricardo Carvalho (knee) on the sidelines. Salomon Kalou is set to be involved after recovering from an ankle knock, while Didier Drogba is in line to continue his comeback from a knee injury.