Chelsea vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Prediction and Preview – 16/09/15
Champions League preview – Chelsea vs Maccabi Tel Aviv prediction
The only real injury concern for Jose Mourinho is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. This means that Asmir Begovic will be making his Champions League debut for Chelsea. Mourinho is sure to be considering changes after another poor performance at Everton and Branislav Ivanovic, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa could all miss out.
Maccabi Tel Aviv have no injury concerns ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. The only player missing is defender Eliazer Dasa who is serving a suspension having been dismissed for a former club in European competition early this season. Eran Zahavi is the man likely to pose the biggest threat going forward and is in good goal scoring form for club and country.
Possible Line-ups
Chelsea: 4-2-3-1 formation: Begovic; Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Rahman; Matic, Ramires; Pedro, Oscar, Hazard; Costa
Maccabi Tel Aviv: 5-4-1 formation: Rajkovic; Shpungin, Haim, Garcia, Tibi, Ziv; Alberman, Mitovic, Rikan, Zahavi; Basat
Statistics
- Chelsea have won 1, drawn 3 and lost 6 of their last 10 matches
- Maccabi Tel Aviv have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Chelsea have scored an average of 1.2 goals and conceded an average of 2.1 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Maccabi Tel Aviv have scored an average of 1.9 goals and conceded an average of 1.3 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Chelsea’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 6 of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s previous 10 matches
Prediction
Chelsea’s bad start to the season continued on the weekend as they went down 3-1 at Everton. Having conceded 12 goals, the most by any club in the Premier League, the defence will be a concern heading in to this game. However, playing home in Europe against the weakest team in the group, may just be the perfect scenario for Chelsea to kick-start their season.
Maccabi will feel they are visiting Stamford Bridge at the right time. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic knows English football well, having played for Chelsea and also guided Watford to promotion last season. This experience could play a key part in how Maccabi approach the game and if they can keep Chelsea out for an hour, the crowd could start to become restless.
If Chelsea can get an early goal, this could turn in to a comfortable win. However, the longer the game stays at 0-0, the more frustrated the home team will become and Maccabi will know this.
Tips
Chelsea to win at 2/13 – Click here to bet with Unibet
Both teams to score at 8/5 – Click here to bet with Unibet
Draw at 15/2 – Click here to bet with Unibet
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