Champions League Group E: Steaua Bucharest Chelsea Odds as Mourinho looks for win in Romania
Latest Steaua Bucharest Chelsea odds as Mourinho’s side look a touch of value in the Champions League betting tonight.
Chelsea are valued at odds of 4/5 to overcome their opening match upset as they travel to Romania to face Steaua Bucharest meanwhile Mourinho’s conquerors Basel play host to Schalke.
Chelsea will be keen to overturn their opening day defeat to Basel with a clinical performance against Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest.
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Having drawn 1-1 at the weekend against a resilient Tottenham side, Chelsea will be buoyed with some solid domestic results although the Blues will be without influential playmaker Eden Hazard who is sidelined with a niggling injury picked up over the weekend.
There have been some unexpected omissions from Mourinho’s squad though as both Michael Essien and Kevin de Bruyne have been left behind despite some of the injuries to the Chelsea midfield.
However, there is still room in the squad for Fernando Torres despite getting himself sent off in Saturday’s derby after clashing with Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen.
Despite being considered underdogs for the tie, Steaua Bucharest will be hoping they can replicate the same performance that saw the Romanian champions defeat Chelsea 1-0 in Bucharest during last season’s Europa League.
Steaua will have a relatively fresh squad for their clash against the 2012 Champions League winners as they will only be without Stefan Nikola and Alexander Chipciu who are on the injured list.
However, Chelsea will know that they will have to go some to beat goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu who kept a clean sheet against the Blues last season meanwhile Italian striker Federico Piovaccari ha scored 7 in 7 in Liga I meaning that the Chelsea defence could be in for a busy night.
Meanwhile, the other Group E game will see Basel looking to take advantage of their shock win against Chelsea and pick up some more points at home against German side Schalke.
Basel will be with many of the stars of their victory over Chelsea with the likes of Marco Streller and Fabian Frei available for selection however defender Fabian Schar picked up a knee injury in a 2-2 draw against Sion on Saturday and is a doubt for the tie.
Schalke will be without American midfielder Jermaine Jones who has been dropped by club management after a poor performance against Hoffenheim over the weekend.
With Basel and Schalke set to take on one another in a close encounter, Chelsea will know that there won’t be a better time to pick up 3 points and close the gap to their rivals.
