Category: Europa League

Chelsea are back in European action on Thursday night, as they clash with BATE Borisov at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are looking to wrap up Group L as quickly as possible, with Maurizio Sarri admitting that he wants this group stage campaign over and done with as quickly as possible. The Blues are on the verge of the next round, and two wins from their next two clashes would put them well on the way.

Sarri’s side meet BATE home and away in a crucial double header in their next two European outings, and that could send them into the next round. After two wins from two, the Premier League side are sitting clear at the top of the group, and they are in total control of their fate from here. Can they bounce back from a dramatic league encounter with Manchester United to wrap up a win on Thursday and move towards the next round?

Team News: Sarri Set for Changes Again

Once again, it’s hard to see Chelsea sticking with their strongest side in the Europa League. So far we’ve seen Sarri shake things up for European games, with the Premier League the clear main focus. While there haven’t been wholesale changes for their European clashes, Sarri has left Eden Hazard out of the starting line-up on both occasions so far, with the Belgian thriving in the league. Just six players have made two starts in the competition so far, including record signing Kepa. His countryman Alvaro Morata has also started both clashes, scoring the winner against MOL Vidi last time out. He’s likely to get another chance up front here, as he looks to boost his poor form against a lower class of opponent.

Andreas Christensen is one who has been in the news lately, and the Danish defender is rumoured to be looking for a switch away. He’s started both European clashes so far, and he should get another chance to impress in this one. Ross Barkley should be pushing for a starting place after scoring as a substitute at the weekend, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek could also be in contention. The midfielder hasn’t been given much of a chance by Sarri this season but he should get a starting role on Thursday night.

BATE have switched things up for their games so far, as they started with a 4-3-3 system in their visit to MOL Vidi in their opener. However, they made a change for the visit of PAOK in the last clash, which they ended up losing 4-1. They went a little more defensive in that game but we could see them get even more rigid for this encounter on Thursday. Having switched back to a 4-5-1, we could even see a five-man defence from the Belarusian side here, as they look to frustrate the Blues.

BATE Form

The visitors continue to dominate in Belarus, and they’re nine points clear at the top of the table after 24 games. After a weekend victory, they’re closing in on the title, and they have just six games left in their domestic campaign. While seeing out the title race is obviously going to be a big goal for BATE, they will be aiming to go on a run in Europe. They have already been eliminated from the Champions League this term, so coming up short in this group would be a blow.

BATE were eliminated by PSV in the Champions League, after putting out HJK and Qarabag. The visitors then went straight into the hat for the Europa League group stage, and so far they have three points from two matches. Last season they also crashed out at this stage, coming up short against Arsenal home and away.

Betting Tips

• Chelsea to win to nil – 7/10 with BetVictor
• Under 2.5 Goals – 13/8 with bet365

The Blues are heavy favourites to claim the points in this clash, with Coral pricing them at 2/15 to win this one. They have been heavily backed across the board for the win, while the visitors can be found as big as 28/1 with Betfair to secure the points. The draw is priced at odds of 7/1 with Ladbrokes, with the Blues having two very close encounters in their opening two matches in Europe this season. Will they find things any easier against BATE, or could this be yet another long night for the Chelsea faithful?

The Blues have claimed back to back wins to nil in this group so far, and with the latest betting odds in mind we can’t see an open game here. The visitors are likely to come here aiming to defend deep, and they will be hoping to be the first side to successfully grind out a 0-0 draw in this group against the Blues, given how the last two matches went. While we see Sarri making changes to the defence, he has enough depth for his side to hold out at the back again here. We’re going with a home win to nil on Thursday, which can be found at 7/10 with BetVictor.

However, the Blues have had issues when it comes to getting forward in this competition. Both of their clashes so far have been 1-0 wins, each of which have been hard fought games. They come into this one aiming to claim another three points, but with BATE set to defend deep we could see another battle of attack against defence. Sarri isn’t likely to start with his strongest men going forward, so we could see another game low on goals. As a result, we’re tipping this to be a duller affair than the bookies expect, as you can get 13/8 with bet365 on under 2.5 goals in this clash. We’re also quite tempted by another 1-0 home victory for the Blues, which can be backed at 7/1 with Betfred.

Maurizio Sarri was thrown in at the deep end on his introduction to English football. He was keen to say so after a tough first assignment against Manchester City in the Community Shield. Few people were surprised that Pep Guaridola’s men were victorious that day at Wembley Stadium and Sarri was at pains to tell Blues fans that it would take time for his new team to adapt to his methods. Thankfully it didn’t take long for that adaptation to start bearing fruit.

The loss against City remains Chelsea’s only defeat of the season. Yes, it hasn’t always gone 100% to plan – the scrappy defending against Arsenal and the goalless draw with West Ham stand out – but you can’t say that Sarri’s start to life at Stamford Bridge has been anything but impressive. That extends to the Europa League where a dogged performance against PAOK saw Chelsea return home from Greece with the points and it’s that competition that Sarri is now focussing on as MOL Vidi visit the Bridge on Thursday evening.

Team News: Strong Team Expected Despite Inevitable Rotation

This is unchartered territory for Chelsea. Sarri is the first manager who’s had to deal with the punishing Thursday-Sunday schedule for (hopefully) the whole season as this is the Blues’ first ever appearance in the group stages of the Europa League.

Sarri will doubtless be working hand in glove with the backroom staff to assess which players are close to entering the dreaded ‘red zone’ and therefore need a rest ahead of Sunday’s trip to St Mary’s to take on Southampton. This being the early stages of the season though, Sarri will likely refrain from making wholesale changes. That was the order of the day for the trip to Greece – probably Chelsea’s toughest match of the group stage – when Sarri made five changes from the team who stuffed Cardiff 4-1 so expect a strong team to take to the pitch on Thursday.

In terms of injuries, things are looking good. There’s no point in risking Pedro’s shoulder for what should be a routine win and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is another unlikely to be called into action but everybody else looks in good shape. The only other limitations are that Danny Drinkwater, Lucas Piazon and Rob Green are not in the Europa League squad.

MOL Vidi Form

As you’ll doubtless be aware from your religious viewing of the Nemzeti Bajnokság – or Hungarian Division 1 – MOL Vidi’s title defence hasn’t gone entirely to plan so far. Marko Nikolic’s men have bucked their ideas up with wins in their last two matches but that’s only been good enough to see them climb to third, some eight points behind the runaway leaders, Ferencvaros.

Part of the problem for MOL Vidi is that they expended so much energy trying to qualify for the Champions League. Vidi managed to navigate a path past F91 Dudelange, Ludogorets and Malmo but fell at the final hurdle, losing over two legs to AEK Athens.

Chelsea v MOL Vidi Head to Head

This is the first time that Chelsea and MOL Vidi have ever crossed paths and the Hungarian side’s first visit to England since 1985. Fans of the club do still remember fondly the time they beat Manchester United in the quarter finals of the 1984/85 UEFA Cup.

Betting Tips

• Chelsea to Win to Nil – 8/13 with bet365
• Alvaro Morata to Score First – 14/5 with Ladbrokes

It’s clear that a club like Chelsea should be playing in the Champions League but there’s no need to view the Europa League simply as a punishment for the mistakes of last season. Sarri can do himself and his players the world of good by getting everybody to buy into the idea that this is a real opportunity. From a collective point of view it’s an opportunity to win something meaningful in Sarri’s first season at the Bridge and from an individual point of view it is an opportunity for squad players to play themselves into form and potentially into the first team.

You can only imagine how quickly things would have unravelled in the Europa League if Antonio Conte was still in charge. He found it difficult to motivate players for the biggest games at times, let alone MOL Vidi at home, so Sarri’s man management will be key throughout the tournament. If he is able to light a fire under the 11 players that he picks on Thursday night there is no question that Chelsea will be far too strong for their opponents.

MOL Vidi should be congratulated for the way that they won the Hungarian title last season and for their application in attempting to qualify for the Champions League but this is another step up entirely. Not only are Chelsea unbeaten in all their competitive matches so far this season but they’ve played some very good football in doing so. That said, there is little point backing the Blues to win at a best price of 1/10 unless. It makes much more sense to take a slightly bigger risk and take bet365 up on the 8/13 they’re quoting about Chelsea winning to nil.

One of the issues that Sarri will have to solve over the coming season is keeping clean sheets against the best teams. MOL Vidi, however, are one of the weakest sides that will visit Stamford Bridge this season so a win to nil should be on the cards. An Alvaro Morata goal should also be on the cards if he is given the chance to shine. Motivating a man who has scored 12 times in the Champions League to do the business against relative European minnows won’t be easy but there’s no doubt that the Spaniard is playing for his future at the club. It’s time for him to step up and we have faith that he will on Thursday night so back Morata to score the game’s opening goal at 14/5 with Ladbrokes.

Chelsea kick off their Europa League group campaign on Thursday night, following on from last season’s disastrous finish to the league campaign. The Blues slumped to fifth under Antonio Conte, but five games into the new season and Maurizio Sarri has already raised expectations around Stamford Bridge. The Blues are hoping to secure Champions League football at the very minimum this season, but could they end the campaign with European silverware and gain entry into the Champions League regardless of their domestic performances?

With a competitive race for the top four likely in England, the Blues can’t quite afford to dispense with this competition entirely, given that the winner claims an automatic place in next season’s Champions League. Sarri is still waiting to land major silverware as a manager, and he’s leading the Blues into a competition where they’re among the biggest sides to feature. Ahead of the Blues’ meeting with Greek side PAOK in the Europa League, they may want to consider their chances of winning the trophy. The bookies certainly think they have a chance, with Chelsea currently the outright favourites.

Team News: Sarri Set For European Changes

The Blues aren’t likely to take the Europa League too seriously from the off, with changes likely to be made. Even with a much thinner squad, Sarri had a habit of rotating in Europe last term. He wrote off the Champions League so that Napoli would be fresh for their Serie A title chase. With Chelsea making a perfect start to the new league season, expect that to lead to changes in Thursday’s visit to Greece.

Following his weekend hat-trick, Eden Hazard is set to be rested in this one. The Belgian is among the top players in the world, so the Europa League isn’t really for him anymore. However, he could cause a world of problems for players at this level if he were to feature. The Blues have lost Ruben Loftus-Cheek to injury ahead of a game he would have featured in, which could allow Ethan Ampadu to feature. Sarri is likely to switch the majority of the squad, with Willy Caballero set to start in goal.

PAOK aren’t set to make drastic changes like the visitors. They come here with one issue, with Leo Matos picking up a ban during their Champions League qualifying campaign. That rules the right-back out for this clash, but otherwise the Greek side are at full strength. They’re set to go with their strongest line-up, which doesn’t feature many names familiar to English football fans.

PAOK Form

PAOK have enjoyed a solid start to the new season, with seven points from their opening three games. They were victors at the weekend, claiming a 3-1 win over OFI on Saturday. They’ll be hoping to take their good domestic form into the Europa League, but they’ve also made some strides in Europe already this season.

The Greek outfit had made a push for the Champions League group stage this season, and they came quite close. They drew 1-1 in their first leg visit to Benfica, and they were ahead against the Portuguese side in the second. However, the Eagles roared back to claim a 4-1 victory in the last European game here, which dumped PAOK out of the Champions League, and into this competition. That run came after they knocked out Basel and Spartak Moscow in the preliminary stages of Europe’s top tier tournament, so the hosts deserve some credit for their recent form in Europe and should not be taken too lightly.

Betting Tips

• Both teams to score – 4/5 with bet365
• Alvaro Morata to score – 13/8 with Ladbrokes

The Blues aren’t bad value here, coming into this clash priced at 20/23 with Coral. They meet a PAOK side who are priced at 16/5 with BetVictor to win at home, while you can find the draw at 27/11 with Ladbrokes. That suggests this is set to be an evenly matched clash. The wholesale changes to the Chelsea side and the fact that the Premier League team are away from home does balance the scales here, but can they still come away with three points in spite of that disadvantage?

The Blues are 6/1 favourites with Betfair to win the Europa League this season, so their second string squad will be expected to kick on and get a result. They face a difficult trip on Thursday night, as the Blues play their first game in this competition since beating Benfica in the final back in 2013. That success is something they could emulate this time around, but they’re likely to start with some weakened sides early on, which does give the hosts a chance to cause a shock.

We think PAOK will fancy their chances at scoring against a rotated Chelsea defence. So far, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger have been the go-to partnership for Sarri in central defence. This game should see chances handed out to Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill, although that pair could be rusty. We expect to see them challenged by a PAOK side who found the net in all of their home Champions League qualifiers this summer. The hosts have also scored in four of their last five matches in this competition, so they have the talent to cause problems. The Blues will remain strong up front, but with potential vulnerabilities in defence we’re tipping both teams to score here, which can be found at 4/5 with bet365.

Chelsea’s changes will still see their most expensive striker starting up top. Olivier Giroud had a hand in Hazard’s brilliance on Saturday, so the rotation policy for the Europa League should give Alvaro Morata a game. This competition is his chance to impress, and he has a solid European record behind him. We expect the Spaniard to make an impact in the Europa League this term, especially against a side like PAOK. At 13/8 with Ladbrokes to score any time, Morata seems like great value here.