Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, wants his team�s �football machine� to dish out a Champions League reality check to European minnows CFR Cluj tonight.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, wants his team's "football machine" to dish out a Champions League reality check to European minnows CFR Cluj tonight.

The Romanians produced a surprise 2-1 victory at Roma on their Champions League debut a fortnight ago, and tonight could be the biggest moment in the club's 101-year history.

As a result, Scolari has been cautioning "respect for a dangerous opponent", and he even went so far as to say it would not be a surprise if Chelsea lost in the Dr Constantin Radulescu stadium. However, in reality, unbeaten Chelsea are homing in on a ninth straight victory that would take them a step closer to qualifying for the second round of the tournament.

"We have made a very good start to the season. Cluj are more confident than before because they beat Roma and they have good players, but we know that if we are to reach the second round, we need to win," said Scolari yesterday. "When you win games you have more confidence, you are more strong. If we win now we have one foot in the second round.

"I think it will need 10 points to qualify, and if we win tomorrow we will have six points. We would just need four more from four games. We want to reach the final and to win the final so it is a very good situation for us."

The coach has been trying to keep Chelsea's Champions League expectations in check following the disappointment of last season's final. Ahead of his side's opening win over Bordeaux, Scolari's first Champions League match, the Brazilian insisted he would not be judged on Europe.

Scolari was at pains to point out the qualities of a Cluj side packed with South Americans and Portuguese players, many of whom are familiar to him and have a point to prove. "The attention of the world is not on Cluj, it is on Chelsea, but their players want to change that. They want to show the world they are good players and catch the eye of other clubs," said Scolari.

"They are in this competition because they have good players, they have something different to other teams in Romania. They need respect. We win many games in England now because we respect the opposition team.

"Tomorrow is the same. I have shown my players a DVD about Cluj. If they win tomorrow against Chelsea, it is because they are better. It is not a surprise."

However, it would be a major surprise to the Transylvanian locals, 25,000 of whom will pack into the stadium tonight and create a great atmosphere for Chelsea.

Cluj, Romania's oldest club and nicknamed the Railroaders, charged through the divisions following some heavy investment, and last year became the first side from outside of Bucharest to win the league title in 17 years.

Like Scolari, the Cluj head coach, Maurizio Trombetta, is new in charge this season and is taking the view that Cluj have "nothing to lose" against Chelsea.

Striker Yssouf Kone said: "I think Chelsea are four times stronger than Roma. When you play against them, you should run like crazy until the last minute. Chelsea are a football machine but in the end, it's 11 against 11 and the pressure will be on Chelsea, not us. If they beat us, it would be normal. If we beat them, it would be something fantastic."

Having studied Scolari's DVD, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is preparing himself for a busy night. "The strength of Cluj is that they play as a team," he said. "They are well organised. They had a plan against Roma which worked well. If there is one thing for me as a goalkeeper to be prepared for, it is that they the had a lot of attempts at goal."

Chelsea have only conceded three goals all season, a major factor behind their unbeaten start to life under Scolari.

"When you are winning more games, you get more confidence. We have had several good games recently and if we can perform in the same way tomorrow we can win the game," said Cech.