The aspiration of Chelsea's strolling players to be seen as serious actors on the footballing stage faces its sternest challenge tonight as Gianluca Vialli's cosmopolitan company look to summon up the spirit of Henry V while avoiding a Comedy of Errors.

For all to end well, the men in blue need to balance aggression with caution at Stamford Bridge as they try to overcome a tricky 1-0 first-leg defeat in Vicenza and set up a subsequent victory in the Stockholm final on May 13th which would, Vialli believes, secure Chelsea's reputation as heavyweight performers and take them a step nearer winning the domestic Oscar of a Premiership title.

Although the club threaten to become the Manchester United of the south off the field, the team still tend to be seen as a foreign version of the King's Road swaggerers who gave birth to the club's playboy reputation in the early Seventies - good in the cups and the clubs.

But even for Osgood, Hutchinson and Co that was small beer - or a large lager. The league remains English football's headiest brew and for Vialli's ultimate aim to come true his side must tonight start showing more of the power and passion, wit and wisdom which overcame Arsenal in the English League Cup semi-final.

"In Europe at the moment they think we are a good side," says Vialli, "but the only way to be really respected is to win something. It would dramatically change our image in Europe to win this competition.

"Having won the FA Cup last season, and the Coca-Cola this, winning in Europe is another step towards winning the Premiership. I think we're nearly ready to be the best team in England, not yet, but we are very close to it. I hope perhaps we can do it next season."

To achieve that, Chelsea must improve their consistency. But also Vialli must sharpen his tactics. The team's sticky position tonight is directly attributable to their failure to score an away goal because they were over-cautious in the first leg. The presence of three Italians in the Chelsea team, far from helping against Serie A opponents, may have caused them to inflate the reputation they know so well.

"We gave them too much respect," admitted the captain Dennis Wise. "We sat back and thought we could get an away goal on the break but we didn't get the result we needed."

That should not be taken as a rallying call for tonight. Chelsea need to score twice without conceding, and Vialli admits: "To take too many risks against a team as dangerous as Vicenza would be deadly. We have to be cautious and brave."

It is the mastery of this trick which will define Chelsea's evening. The Italians, hard-working and well-organised, will come to defend while also looking to score on the break.

If Chelsea want to depress themselves further, they can chew on the fact that they have not scored the two or more goals they seek tonight in seven of their last 12 games.

They will also be without the suspended Roberto Di Matteo in midfield, a huge loss, and eight players are one yellow card away from a suspension for the next round.

On the up-side, Chelsea expect to have no injury worries, while the penetration achieved by Chelsea's attack once Tore Andre Flo came on in the second half in Italy gives some cause for optimism that goals will come eventually and that all the reservations about Chelsea being upstaged tonight will prove to be much ado about nothing.