Valencia looks to its Soldado of fortune for Chelsea decider

Valencia's players had their minds elsewhere against Espanyol at the weekend - on Tuesday's do-or-die Champions League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (8.45pm, TVE1). Only coach Unai Emery's decision to give up the idea of resting top striker Roberto Soldado, who came on to head in a 79th-minute winner with his first touch, clinched a 2-1 win.

And Soldado will need to be on similarly lethal form if Valencia is to come away with the win or tie with goals it needs to progress to the knockout stage of the competition. On a blistering run, the ex-Real Madrid man is making it increasingly difficult for Spain coach Vicente del Bosque to ignore him for next summer's European Championships, notching up nine goals in La Liga and five in the Champions League, including a hat-trick in Valencia's 7-0 thrashing of Belgium's Genk.

Although Valencia has never beaten Chelsea in the competition - there have been three ties and two wins for the London side in their five meetings - the Spaniards arrive in London in better form. Chelsea is at a crossroads under young under-fire Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas with an ageing squad including the likes of Didier Drogba (33), John Terry (31 on Wednesday) and Frank Lampard (33), who are giving way to younger talents such as 22-year-old forward Daniel Sturridge and 23-year-old ex-Valencia midfielder Juan Mata. The turmoil has led to a 1-1 tie at Genk and a 2-1 defeat to already-qualified Bayer Leverkusen in its last two Champions League encounters, while it has also struggled in the Premier League - though a (flattering) 3-0 defeat of Newcastle United at the weekend may have propped up its confidence.

Already through at the top of their groups, Barcelona and Real Madrid have little to play for against BATE Borisov on Tuesday and Ajax on Wednesday in their respective final group matches. Real's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Xavi and Leo Messi were on Monday announced as the three candidates for this year's Balon d'Or, to be awarded on January 9, though with the crucial clásico looming on Saturday, it remains to be seen if any of them will be risked midweek.

Also with nothing to play for - except its first points of the campaign - bottom-of-Group-A Villarreal faces Napoli, which needs a win to guarantee qualification ahead of Manchester City.