Petr Cech believes Chelsea will need to keep Didier Drogba under control if they are to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Cech and Drogba were team-mates during the Ivorian’s trophy-laden spell at Stamford Bridge but face off on Wednesday night in Istanbul as the Blues take on Galatasaray.

The duo were part of the Chelsea side that lifted Europe’s top trophy in 2012 as Drogba netted the winning penalty to see off Bayern Munich in their own back yard.

Goalkeeper Cech knows from training sessions at Cobham just how much of a handful the veteran striker can be and is hoping Drogba has a quiet night at the Turk Telekom Arena.

Cech said: “'It's a new situation for us, for nine years Didier was a huge part of our team, a successful team.

“It's the first time he will play against us and we know how important he is for Galatasaray, how big a player he is, so we need to make sure we play well against him and make sure he doesn't have chances to score.”

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Cech is an experienced head in the Chelsea dressing room and is embarking on his 10th Champions League campaign with the club.

“I'm excited because it's a knockout game in the Champions League,” added the 31-year-old.

“It's always a big challenge for every player. Everybody knows what the atmosphere is like here, I've never played here before so I'm looking forward to it.

“We've been having a good period with good results, we want to carry that on in the game tomorrow, we expect a difficult game against a difficult opponent so let's see, we know we have to be ready.”