CHELSEA VS. MARSEILLE- STARTING LINEUPS AND BETTING PREDICTIONS

Chelsea host French outfit Marseille this evening, in what promises to be a worthwhile event from the fans perspective
The Blues come off an absolute disaster of a week that has seen them knocked out of the Carling Cup, as well as suffering a shock Premiership loss to Manchester City over the weekend.
Add to this to the fact that Chelsea are running out with a largely depleted side, and one begins to get the feeling that this might not be as one sided as most bookies suggest
On the starting line up front, Blues striker Didier Drogba sits out the last of his two-match Champions League ban, whilst Frank Lampard (hernia) and Yossi Benayoun (calf) are out
Ashley Cole returns after being rested for the 4-1 win over MSK Zilina two weeks ago, in what could spell good things on the Chelsea defence front
Forward Salomon Kalou is still nursing a thigh strain, whilst Gael Kakuta has been declared fit.
Marseille defender Souleymane Diawara should also be running out for the starting XI after returning from injury against Sochaux at the weekend.
Marseille have had a somewhat tumultuous season thus far, and currently sit sixth in the French domestic league table
Didier Deschamps will be feeling the pressure at Stamford Bridge tonight, after his side's home defeat to Spartak Moscow in the first round, and will need something special to conjure up any points.
Regardless of the loss of some of their more high profile names, Chelsea still head into tonight' clash as massive favourites against a side that has just not managed to impressive so far this season.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Zhirkov, Kakuta, Anelka, Malouda.
Marseille: Mandanda; Azpilicueta, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Remy, Cheyrou, Gonzalez, Cisse, Ayew; Gignac.
William Hill have Chelsea sitting at 1.33, to Marseille's 9.0 even
The bookies are confident that the Blues will keep the Marseille strikers in check with both a 1-0, as well as 2-0 win on the Blues front at 7.5 respectively
A 1-0 win in favour of the French contingent could be rather lucrative at 17.0, with a 2-0 win being the major pick on this end at 41.0
Nicolas Anelka is tops to open tonight's proceedings by scoring at odds of 1.91- pretty much a sure thing against a side that has struggled defensively.
Also note Michael Essien on this one at 4.5 to score at any stage.
While most pundits might be jumping on the 'Chelsea are finally slipping' bandwagon, a quick peek at the starting line-up still suggest that this Blues side still oozes class with international players a plenty
Chelsea will simply not lose tonight- they are too good and the Stamford Bridge faithful will rise to the occasion
Betting Tip- Nicolas Anelka to score at any time at 1.91