Chelsea v Schalke Odds : Blues to win to nil in Champions League clash at the Bridge
Jose Mourinho was damning in his appraisal of his team’s performance as Chelsea slumped to a “soft” 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at the weekend, saying afterwards that he made “11 mistakes” in his team selection.
As the club look for their 100th win in European competition against Shalcke 04 in Stamford Bridge, Mourinho has promised to make changes in his selection for the group E clash.
Chelsea |
4/9 |
Draw  |
7/2 |
| Schalke 04 |
7/1 |
“I will make changes. Not 11 changes because that would be too much, but changes for sure,” he said. “I don’t know my best team because we have this kind of performance (against Newcastle).”
One change that is certain is the replacement of Fernando Torres by Samuel Eto’o as the Spanish striker has been ruled out of adding to the two goals he netted in Gelsenkirchen in the reverse fixture last month with a thigh injury.
The visitors, who are behind Chelsea on goal difference only, will be withouttheir own star striker as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will not return until the new year from the knee injury he suffered in training last month.
Chelsea and Mourinho’s formidable home record sees them undefeated in both league and Europe this season but the manager is still unhappy with the level of application his midfielders are giving to their defensive duties and the arrcal of a Schalke side who have won six and drawn one of their last seven matches on the road will be a firm test.
The Bundesliga side have staggered so far this year, winning four, drawing three and losing four of their opening league games and their manager Jens Keller has criticised his players for not making the most of the opportunities that fall their way.
His club captain Benedikt Howedes is even less confident of the German’s chances against the Londonders, saying during the week ” “We cannot compete against top teams like Chelsea at the moment.”
It is a markedly different side to that which beat Arsenal 2-0 on their last trip to the English capital and with Mourinho hoping for a performance to wash away the frustrations of Saturday’s league loss and secure progress into the final 16 it could be a long night for Schalke.
Chelsea have lost only once at home in 30 group stage fixtures, this year’s opening match against Basel, and Mourinho thrives on these occasions.
The Portugese was stinging in his criticism of the Newcastle performance saying his players became complacent due to winning so many matches recently.
“You have to know why you win and you don’t win by a miracle. You win by effort, you win by commitment, you win by ambition, you win by quality and you win by expressing yourself individually but in the team context.
“You have to know why you win and I tell my players every time I can, every time I have meetings with them, ‘don’t forget why you are getting results’.”
