Jose Mourinho is adamant that Chelsea are under no added pressure when they face Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Swiss outfit must beat the Blues to stand any chance of advancing to the knockout stages from Group E, while a draw would prove enough to book Chelsea's place in the next round of the competition.
"I think Basel are a good team; in London they have played better than we did," Mourinho told reporters. "But because they didn't win against Steaua Bucuresti, their situation is difficult. Ours is better and hopefully on the last matchday we are already comfortable.
"This is a period where I think the coach can play a role, not just the team. It is a period where only the brave survive, because it is hard, a period with a lot of matches. I enjoy it. We have nine matches to play in December and if we can win here, the match against Steaua has less importance. That is our motivation.
"The pressure is on Basel, not us; we can qualify and Basel, even if they win, still have to play a final match in Gelsenkirchen. So for them the situation is difficult, which shows clearly that after the first match we did our job and they didn't. But they are a very good team. It is going to be a big match for them."
The match gets underway at 7.45pm.
Matt Cotton
