Ranieri: We're not scared of anyone

Chelsea need a point to win their group, having secured qualification for the last 16 with a 0-0 draw against Sparta Prague a fortnight ago, but have shown signs they could go further. Much further.

Last month's 4-0 demolition of Lazio in Rome announced Ranieri's side as major players on the Champions League stage and they have the ability to return here for the final on 26 May.

Not that tonight's tie is of little importance. Besiktas need a win to guarantee their progress to the second stage and are angry at having to fight for it away from home following UEFA's decision to move the game because of security fears in the wake of last month's bombings in Istanbul.

The Turks will not want for support on their travels. Almost 10 per cent of Gelsenkirchen's 288,000 population are of Turkish origin and, combined with the large numbers of Turks from nearby Dortmund and Dusseldorf, one can see why the 54,000 tickets sold out in a matter of days.

As a former coal mining and steel centre, the city is hardly teeming with delights and the atmosphere will be about as welcoming as Middlesbrough on a Tuesday night, with the odd political grievance thrown into the mix.

The 980 Chelsea fans who summoned up enough enthusiasm and euros to make the trip will have to shout loud.

Ranieri prefers not to sing his team's praises, but is patently delighted with their position at the top of both the Premiership and Group G.

A draw tonight would enable them to avoid holders AC Milan and probably Real Madrid and Juventus in the next round, both of whom reached the semi-finals last season, but such is the confidence at Chelsea that the coach does not mind who they play.

Ranieri said: "When you arrive in the knockout stages every match is difficult. We'd rather not play Real Madrid, but it's more important when you play rather than who you play against. Hopefully it will be a good moment for us and not for our opponents.

"When we play it's important to be in the right condition and we must be ready in February. We don't fear anyone and the name of our opponents are not important.

"When I won the Copa Del Rey [with Valencia] in Spain we played against Barcelona, Real Madrid and all the top teams. It's not important who we draw. Valencia reached two Champions League finals but no one knew who they were. Everyone was saying, 'Who is Valencia?' and they kept winning games. Everyone thought Valencia would be an easy match, but they kept winning."

Like Valencia, who Ranieri coached for three seasons before Hector Cuper led them to those two finals in 2000 and 2001, Chelsea lack a European pedigree but their astonishing spending last summer means they are no longer outsiders. While still pleading for more time to blend his superstars into a true team, Ranieri admits he is blessed with one of the best collections of players in the world.

He said: "It's different for Chelsea because everyone knows who we are. Everyone knows about Mr Abramovich and all our players. I'm not surprised at our progress because I believe in these players and we've come a long way as a club this season. We've played well in all the matches and shown good character.

"I hope our large squad will come into their own in the next few months. I always said it would take time for them to blend together and we're doing that now. We have some of the best players in Europe but not the best squad. If we played tennis it's one player against one player, but football is a team game. I'm pleased with my collection, but a museum is different to a team."

Despite the size of his squad, Ranieri has relatively few options for tonight's game. Hernan Crespo (calf) and Eidur Gudjohnsen (ankle) are both out, so Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will partner Adrian Mutu up front, while Claude Makelele could be rested in favour of Geremi in central midfield.

Captain Marcel Desailly will return in place of William Gallas at centre-back and Celestine Babayaro could make a rare appearance instead of Wayne Bridge at left-back.

Besiktas are the only team other than Arsenal to beat Chelsea this season and Ranieri is expecting a difficult game against a side who are unbeaten in 15 domestic league games.

He said: "Besiktas are in a good condition and will attack from the start. There will be a bigger Turkish crowd than in Istanbul and there is no disadvantage for them."