Chelsea face a tough trip to Holland as they face Group H leaders, Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena.
Ajax can move closer to qualifying for the knockouts whilst Chelsea must win if they’re to boost their own chances of reaching the next stage.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesAjax have a full squad available with no fresh injury concerns to worry about coming into this match.
Chelsea could have Cesar Azpilicueta available after the defender suffered a knock during Saturday’s win over Newcastle.
Emerson Palmieri (thigh) and N’Golo Kante (groin) are also set to possibly feature but Ross Barkley looks set to be sidelined with an ankle injury picked up against the Magpies.
Andreas Christiansen (thigh) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles) are just a couple of weeks away from making a first-team return, whilst Marco van Ginkel (knee) and Antonio Rudiger (groin) both remain ruled out for an indefinite period.
Stat Attack
- This is Chelsea’s first meeting with Ajax in all competitions.
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last five away trips against first-time opposition, which all came during their Europa League campaign last season (W3, D2).
- Ajax have won just one of four home matches against English opposition, doing so in a 3-1 win over Manchester City in October 2012 (W1, D1, L2).
Prediction
Chelsea are playing some great football even if they had to dig deep at the weekend to see off Newcastle, which might be a slight worry in terms of fitness if Ajax opt for a fast paced style of attack.
Both teams however are blooding plenty of youngsters alongside experience, which adds another edge to this encounter and I can therefore see a good game between two possession based teams.
Ultimately though, a draw probably is the best outcome here for both teams but Chelsea will probably need the win more for their qualifying situation.
Prediction: Ajax 1-1 Chelsea
Result: Ajax 0-1 Chelsea