Chelsea will be hoping to forget their domestic troubles with a Champions League win when they travel to face FC Porto in Group G on Tuesday evening. The home side will be looking for the first win of their campaign. The two sides were in the same Champions League group in 2009, when Chelsea won both matches 1-0 with Nicolas Anelka scoring on both occasions. Porto have won just one of the six matches between the two teams. However, Chelsea have won just one of the three previous matches at Estadio do Dragao.
Porto fought back to secure a 2-2 draw at Dynamo Kiev in the opening group match. They haven't been too convincing in the domestic league either, they are unbeaten in the opening six matches but surprisingly dropped points last weekend against Moreirense, also in a 2-2 draw. Last season they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a competition that they have won under Jose Mourinho in 2004. Andre Silva is out injured for the hosts while Yacine Brahimi is a doubt as he has missed training this weekend due to a knee injury.
Chelsea started their Champions League campaign with a comfortable 4-0 home win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but their Premier League form has been terrible so far. The Blues have won just two of their seven league matches so far and were held to a 2-2 draw by Newcastle last weekend. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will be out of contention for several months after having undergone knee surgery, but striker Diego Costa will make his way back in the starting eleven.
Probable line-ups:
Porto: Casillas - Pereira, Maicon, Marcano, Layun - Never, Andre, Imbula, Corona - Aboubakar, Brahimi
Chelsea: Begovic - Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta - Matic, Fabregas - Willian, Oscar, Hazard - Costa
My prediction: 2-2 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Porto win - 2.60 Draw - 3.30 Chelsea win - 3.00
Johnajax 8 years ago
This season is nightmare for everyone in Chelsea and special for their fans. This is only proof of bad season for Chelsea and I am not sure that they can do anything this season in any competition. In premier league they are already lost and in Champions league they have that win in first fixture and they will go in next...
This season is nightmare for everyone in Chelsea and special for their fans. This is only proof of bad season for Chelsea and I am not sure that they can do anything this season in any competition. In premier league they are already lost and in Champions league they have that win in first fixture and they will go in next round but with this play they will be eliminated by any team in that stage.
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Alexa Alexa 8 years ago
I was really surprised when I saw that odd on Chelsea before the match was 3.2. I have believed that Jose Mourinho will find the way to overcome this bad streak for the Blues,but Porto really played great football and Portuguese team deserved their win absolutely.
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sharpe 8 years ago
I think nobody expected so poor form from the English teams in the Champions League, and yet another embarrassing result. Porto is always tough opponent at home but when you have such a selection and ambitions nothing can excuse the loss. Chelsea miserable performance continues and seems like the season won't be successful...
I think nobody expected so poor form from the English teams in the Champions League, and yet another embarrassing result. Porto is always tough opponent at home but when you have such a selection and ambitions nothing can excuse the loss. Chelsea miserable performance continues and seems like the season won't be successful for them.
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rikimartin4444_115925 8 years ago
This will be a very interesting game. Porto are in good shape and they will try to defeat Chelsea. On the other side, Chelsea started good in Champions league but, they are terrible in domestic league. I think that Chelsea are better team and odd on their win is great. I will put some money on their win. My prediction 1-2...
This will be a very interesting game. Porto are in good shape and they will try to defeat Chelsea. On the other side, Chelsea started good in Champions league but, they are terrible in domestic league. I think that Chelsea are better team and odd on their win is great. I will put some money on their win. My prediction 1-2 win for Chelsea.
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