Chelsea will look to keep alive their hopes of a top-eight finish in the league phase of the Champions League on Wednesday night as they welcome Cypriot champions Pafos FC to Stamford Bridge.
Liam Rosenior made a winning start on his Premier League debut in the dugout for Chelsea on Saturday, as his new side won 2-0 at home to bogey side Brentford.
That victory was the Blues’ first Premier League win in five matches and second in 10, moving them up into sixth position in the Premier League table, just two points behind Liverpool in fourth.
After taking charge in the FA Cup, League Cup and the Premier League in his opening three matches of the reigning World Club champions, Rosenior will make his managerial debut in the Champions League on Wednesday.
After advancing through three qualifying rounds, Pafos qualified for the Champions League proper for the first time and have been far from disgraced.
Albert Celades’s visitors have picked up six points from their opening six league phase matches – including a historic 1-0 over Villarreal on MD4 – but their 2-0 loss in Turin against Juventus last time out leaves them in 26th spot, a point outside of the playoff places.
How the bookies view it: Blues clear favourites
As expected, Chelsea come into this clash as clear favourites to claim a crucial three points, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 1/7.
Pafos are 16/1 underdogs to claim a shock victory in West London, whilst the draw is also unfancied at 15/2.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Unsurprisingly, given that the visitors were only founded in 2014, Wednesday night will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Pedro to pounce again?
Joao Pedro was back on the scoresheet at the weekend, with his stunning strike being the opener against Brentford.
The Brazilian attacker has now scored four goals across his last seven starts for Chelsea – including in their defeat in Bergamo in their previous Champions League clash – and is an appealing 11/10 at William Hill to get on the scoresheet once again at the Bridge on Wednesday.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Chelsea are still without Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia, whilst the likes of Tosin, Estevao and Jamie Gittens are doubts.
Ex-Chelsea defender David Luiz looks like he is a doubt on his return to Stamford Bridge, as is David Goldar and Joao Correira.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Pedro
Pafos FC: Michael, Bruno, Luckassen, Pilaes, Sema, Dragomir, Sunjic, Pepe, Orsic, Jaja, Bassouamina
Anything else catch the eye?
Chelsea were far from convincing at the weekend in their win over Brentford, with the Bees guilty of missing a few chances, but new boss Liam Rosenior will be confident his side will make it back-to-back wins on Wednesday.
The Blues have won all three of their Champions League fixtures at the Bridge this season against Ajax, Barcelona and Benfica, scoring on nine occasions and conceding just once.
Pafos have failed to score in any of their three league phase matches on the road, losing 2-0 at Juventus last time out, and the 10/11 on offer at William Hill for a Chelsea Win to Nil appeals to me.
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