Chelsea begin title defence against Italian champions Juventus on Wednesday
Chelsea will kick start their Champions League title defence on Wednesday, when they take on the Serie A champions, Juventus at Stamford Bridge.
Going into the game being on top of their respective leagues, both the teams will be looking to get their European campaign off to a flyer.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Di Matteo’s men won all of their six fixtures at home in the tournament’s previous edition, and will look to keep their impressive home record intact.
On the other hand, Bianconeri will be confident of pulling off a result from their visit to London, and will be wary that they are more than just capable of securing all three points.
Chelsea
Even though the Blues won their maiden European title last season, their current squad looks far more superior to the one which went into the history books.
Boasted by the inclusion of rising http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Victor-Moses-c36075 during the summer, the Londoners will be lifted by the return of John Terry and Ashley Cole to action. Both the players missed out on England’s recent international
outings due to injury.
Juan Mata, who didn’t feature in the Blues goalless draw against Queens Park http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rangers-c40314 last Saturday, is set to make a return to the starting team.
The manager is not expected to do much tinkering with his midfield, and could stick with the Hazard, Fernando Torres and Mata partnership upfront.
Expected Starting-Eleven:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Torres-c13707.
Results of last five matches:
D L W W W
Juventus
Antonio Conte’s Juventus will go into the game on Wednesday on the back of five-match winning streak.
However, the manager will have to deal with the injury of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lucio-c22597, who is set to miss the high profile fixture.
In the defender’s absence, Conte will seek to partner Giorgio Chiellini with Leonardo Bonucci and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Andrea-Barzagli-c5669 in the backline.
Given the size and importance of the match, the Italian giants are otherwise not expected to make any major changes in the team.
Expected Starting-Eleven:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mirko-Vucinic-c26024.
Results of last five games:
W W W W W
Expected Result:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 2 : 1 Juventus
The game on Wednesday night could go either way, as both the sides are currently in sublime form. However, the writer feels that the Blues will be able to make the home advantage count, and will squeeze out a narrow win.
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