Chelsea need to beat the odds in Champions League Final

Chelsea go into Saturday's Champions League Final against Bayern Munich as the bookies' underdogs but they are used to that. The Blues were not expected to beat Barcelona in the semi-finals but some gritty defending combined with an effective counter-attack earned them a 3-2 aggregate victory.

But Chelsea fans should not regard Bayern as easier opponents - the Germans are playing in their home stadium, the Allianz Arena. They were the runners-up to Inter Milan in the final two years ago and have a fearsome attacking line-up including former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben.

Chelsea are missing four of the players who helped them get to the final - John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires all scored crucial goals in the knockout stages but all four are suspended.

Frank Lampard is expected to take over the captain's armband from Terry and he knows that the team need to put the semi-final win behind them: "We've enjoyed the feeling of beating the best because Barcelona certainly are the best team. But we're clever enough to know that if you lose the final, people soon forget the semis and the quarters."

The 33-year-old added: "Every year, we get asked the same questions: is this the year, how inspired are you by the failures of years before? And, every year, we have failed, obviously, because we haven't done it. We are one step closer to making it."