Chelsea News: Gary Cahill set for culture shock against Barcelona of The Caucasus Qarabag

The fixture list says Chelsea's skipper, suspended after being sent off in the Premier League curtain raiser against Burnley, will be facing Qarabag from  Azerbaijan.

But chances are it will feel more like Barcelona. 

The minnows from the former Soviet republic are nicknamed the Barcelona of The Caucasus because they unashamedly mimic the Spanish giants with lots of short passes, no out-and-out striker, and not many crosses into the penalty box either.

With no specific danger man to keep tabs on it looks like Cahill's comeback could be quieter than he would normally expect. But after two successful World Cup outings for England last week, he's now raring to make his mark in Europe.

He says: "We’re back where we deserve to be. It's important to be in this competition and we’ll try to go as far as we possibly can in it."

Cahill admits he doesn't know too much about their Barcelona copycat opponents, but insists: "They have earned the right to play in the competition, so we don’t take them lightly at all."

Thanks to being able to play in both England's World Cup qualifiers he has maintained his match fitness, even though he says that having to sit on the Chelsea sidelines was a pain.

"It was great to be back out there and get two games under my belt," he said.

"It has been painful to be fair, because it kills you when you’re not involved. The time period has felt massive. 

"I’ve trained near enough every day, but there was no end product at the end of the week."

Cahill revealed that he has spent much of his time helping his team-mates cope without him - and recover from that shock opening day defeat.

"It's been important for me to help to motivate the lads and prepare them, even though I haven't been able to play.