PREVIEW
Matchday 4 of the 25/26 UEFA Champions League’s ‘League Phase’ sets up a clash between the reigning World Champions, Chelsea and Azerbaijanian side Qarabag.
The Blues will aim to secure a third straight victory in the top division of European football when they make the 2,500 mile trip to Baku. After the defeat to Bayern Munich on the opening day, Enzo Maresca’s men in blue secured two straight home victories over Portuguese and Dutch sides, Benfica and Ajax, respectively.
The last time Chelsea played in Baku, it marked their 4-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2019 Europa League Final.
WHO ARE QARABAG FK?
The home side are enjoying a fruitful season in their Champions League outfits, as the Horsemen won two of their three opening games in the league phase. Manager Gurban Gurbanov has been in-charge of Qarabag since 2008, putting him at the centre of the helm for 17 years, something that is rare in modern football.
The reigning domestic Azerbaijanian champions, who have 12 titles in total, sit one point behind the league leaders with a game in hand. Gurbanov’s men will look to continue their domestic form as they sit level on points with their visitors in the Champions League.
HEAD TO HEAD
The last time these two teams played against each other was during the 2017/18 UCL group stage. The participants were placed in Group C, along with Roma and Atletico Madrid.
The then reigning Premier League champions opened their campaign with a dominant 4-0 victory at home. When the two sides met again just weeks later, the Blues once more proved superior, cruising to a 6-0 win.
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea
The West Londoners have had a lot of problems with injuries in the past few seasons, and so is the story this time around with some minor scares for the Blues a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, Enzo Maresca is expected to make a huge rotation to his squad that defeated Tottenham over the weekend.
Pedro Neto will miss the midweek tie as he became a new name on the injury list for the Blues, but early comments from the Italian manager suggests that the Portuguese international’s lack of involvement in this game is just for precautionary measure. The 25 year-old winger is expected to be fit in time for the match against Wolves, in the upcoming weekend.
Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill remain the only two names on the long term injury list for the World Champions, with the former expected to be back in action in the upcoming weeks.
Probable Lineup: Jorgensen (GK), Hato, Acheampong, Tosin (C), Gusto, Santos, Lavia, Gittens, Buonanotte, Estevao, Guiu
Qarabag
The Azerbaijanis have exceeded expectations in this season’s campaign, securing impressive victories against Benfica and Copenhagen. Yet, their loss to Athletic Bilbao on Matchday 3 casts doubt on their ability to recover when facing opposition of this quality.
However, the likelihood of that happening remains low. Qarabag’s track record against English sides is dismal, with seven defeats in as many meetings. To make matters worse, they’ve managed to find the net just once in those games, against Tottenham in the 2016 Europa League.
No injury concerns or doubts for Gurbanov, who’s expected to start his best 11 against Chelsea.
Probable Lineup: Kochalski (GK), Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Jafarquliyev, Bicalho, Jankovic, Duran, Andrade, Zoubir (C), Akhundzade
Where the Match Will Be Decided
It’s expected that Qarabag will start the match with a compact and defensive shape. Despite that, the Horsemen have scored 6 goals across their 3 opening European games which proves that they have the attacking strengths needed.
Chelsea’s defensive mistakes and reckless accumulation of red cards have shaped their season so far, any mistake could potentially lead to a counter-attack, putting the Blues in a dangerous position.
Players to Watch
Estevao Willian has been sensational for his new club ever since he joined them. He became the youngest goalscorer for the Blues in Champions League history as he scored his first goal in the competition from the penalty spot. The 18 year-old was famous for breaking records back in Brazil as he broke numerous goalscoring records including Neymar’s record of ‘most goal contributions by a player aged under 18’ in the Brazilian Serie A.
Match Prediction
We go for Qarabag 1- 4 Chelsea.
