Champions League Group E Preview: Chelsea aim to get revenge on Basel and qualify for last 16

September 16, 2014

Chelsea are slated as 17/20 favourites to get revenge on FC Basel in Switzerland and seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Basel stunned many people at the start of Group E when they were able to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but Jose Mourinho’s side could return the favour and also qualify for the knockout stages at the same time.

Chelsea are currently top of Group E and they have a three point lead over Schalke knowing that even a point could be enough to put The Blues into the next round.

Mourinho will be without a couple of first team players for the trip to Basel though as Fernando Torres is nursing a leg injury meanwhile David Luiz has also had to withdraw due to fitness issues.

It means that Gary Cahill will continue to keep his place alongside John Terry whilst Samuel Eto’o will remain the leader of the same Blues attacking line-up that dissected West Ham at the weekend.

Alongside that, Ashley Cole could find himself left on the bench for the game after a couple of impressive performances from Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta over the past couple of games deputising in the position.

Basel have surprised many with their form this season in Group E and the Swiss Champions are just one point behind Schalke as they look to fight over the second qualification spot for the knockout stages.

The Swiss side have been hit by two withdrawals from their squad as both Marcelo Diaz and Behrang Safari are unavailable for tonight’s game at St Jakobspark.

Basel will still be a threat though as the likes of Fabian Frei and Marco Streller are likely to play a part in the fixture having major contributions in their famous 2-1 win over the English side back in September.

In the other Group E clash, Schalke will travel to Romania knowing that a win against Steaua Bucharest could be enough to secure a passage to the last 16 with one game left to spare.

Schalke are still undergoing somewhat of an injury crisis and the German side will be without Marco Hoger, Chinedu Obasi and Kyriakos Papadopoulos for the trip east on Tuesday night.

The home side will need to win to have any chance of remaining in Europe this season but the Romanian champions will be without Lucian Filip and Mihai Pintilli for their crunch game at the Arena Nationala.

With Chelsea and Schalke just one win away from qualification, the underdogs of Basel and Steaua know that tonight’s fixtures will be do or die for their Champions League ambitions and their chance to shock some of Europe’s biggest clubs.