Chelsea and Everton Missing Some of their Key African Stars

Everton is going to meet Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge today in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final. Both the teams are strong enough to make it to the final and this is what seems to be alluring for the football fans to enjoy the match. Everton and Chelsea met each other in the cup back in 2005-2006 season where Chelsea reached the final with 5-2 aggregate.

Now, ahead of the today’s match, both teams are missing some of their key players, who are out to take part in the upcoming African Nations Cup. However, Chelsea will have John Obi Mikel for the first leg encounter as Nigeria allowed him on late departure, whereas Everton also got good news from Nigeria as they are getting Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Joseph Yobo for today’s match. Chelsea will miss the key players like Michael Essien and Didier Drogba as they are due to join up their Ghana bound national side.

Goal.com reported:

A big blow is that Stephen Pienaar won't be available due to his being called up by the South African national side. He's played a big part in the recent surge in the Goodison Park squad's form. Very quick feet and excellent movement in the build ups he's involved in, make for a key element that you really don't want to have to replace at this stage. With Arteta suspended and Osman out injured Moyes will be looking for Cahill to be 110%, despite the knock he's been carrying. Yobo and Yakubu will play in this 1st leg, as their national side (Nigeria) allowed them to stay on, but all African players will be away for the 2nd Leg on Jan 23rd, so you'd think Moyes will be wanting to really make a move here.

So, it is obvious that both teams will miss their African stars for the second leg match on 23 January and that is why, they will try their best to capitalize on today’s match. So, even if you are not fan of either Chelsea or Everton, it is very logical to enjoy the match hoping to see an exciting one today at the Stamford Bridge stadium.