Chelsea FC take on Maccabi Tel-Aviv in a crunch game, here are the staff picks
Chelsea FC will be desperate to right a sinking ship as they open up their Champions League campaign against Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Wednesday night. I’ve had a whip around the knowledgeable staff the staff here at The Pride Of London as the writers dip into their pixie dust and glaze over their crystal ball. Here is how we think this game is going to pan out.
Next: Chelsea FC Predicted XI Against Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Andrew Martin: 4-1 Chelsea. Chelsea will be going into this match angry with their awful form in the EPL and will be looking to bounce back and show their quality. It will translate into the Champions League in a way that we haven’t seen in the Premier League to this point. Let’s hope it sparks the side into a great run of form over the next few matches.
Mark Treadwell: 5-0 to Chelsea. Jose Mourinho is unaccustomed to losing at home, losing back-to-back home games would be unacceptable. I see Mourinho and the team more determined than ever to put the wrongs of the start of this season right and fortunately for Chelsea our first Champions League game is against the weakest side in the group. Costa will bully, Hazard will dazzle and Ivanovic will be on the bench. KTBFFH.
Joshua Sutter: Chelsea 3-1. Despite Chelsea looking like they haven’t come back from vacation yet in the EPL, they should win this game, right? They are the better team, right? They have better players than Maccabi, right? Well they have a better team on paper than Crystal Palace, Everton, and Swansea. That didn’t stop them from only gaining 1 point from those 3 games. Despite starting off horribly, expect Jose’s men to play up to their potential in the UCL. Even if we don’t see a capable Chelsea in the EPL for weeks, I expect to see the old Chelsea on Wednesday.
Khaled Abdallah: 3-0 to Chelsea but it will be very convincing. Falcao will start and Traore will get his debut late on in the match. It will be the first clean sheet of the season even if it comes against such lowly opposition.
Ollie Browning: Chelsea 4-0. After a poor start to the season, a game against one of the lowest ranked teams in the Champions League can be used as a springboard to re-start the season. Maccabi will be travelling over 3000 miles to Stamford Bridge and will likely be a little tired, so Chelsea can exploit that! The match is a perfect opportunity for our strikers to regain some confidence in front of goal, and the defence is unlikely to be massively challenged, so I can only see it going one way.
Ayushman Basu: Chelsea 3-1. Baba Rahman to start the game but Chelsea’s leaky defense will concede a goal. However, the attacking prowess with Hazard and Pedro will see through a Chelsea win. José won’t take a chance with changing his team and will go for a win to boost team morale after the disappointing start to the season.
Ejoh Celestine: Chelsea 2-2 Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Sorry guys, but if I have learned something from watching Mourinho towards the end of last season and at the commencement of this season, it is becoming pretty obvious that he has lost touch with reality. And as long as Brana remains at right-back (which is likely to be the case), the Blues will keep suffering at the back. And I forsee Mourinho returning to the Fabregas-Matic combination in central midfield, meaning the backline will be exposed again. The only reason I believe Chelsea will score twice is the likely inclusion of Oscar in the team!
Daniel Childs: Chelsea 3-0. Return to the Champions League could help Chelsea get back into form against weaker opposition. I believe Falcao will start, as well as Oscar. Praying Branna is dropped for Baba who will start at LB. Would like to see the inclusion of Loftus-Cheek alongside Matic in Midfield for more power but doubt Jose will drop Cesc. Same wingers. Another massive game. Need to gain some confidence and a clean sheet before Saturday.
David Rouben: 4-0 Chelsea (it’s a shame we don’t still have Yossi Benayoun for this one). This nightmare can’t go on for much longer, can it? Mourinho knows that he can’t come away with anything less than 3 points, especially at home. And he’s kept his faith in Branna despite his dreadful performances, but I’ll be shocked if he gets the start. People are already starting to write off Chelsea’s chances of winning the EPL, and if that’s the case, the focus will start to shift towards the CL. Remember, when Chelsea won the Champions League, they finished 7th in the EPL.
Connor Tomko: 2-1 Chelsea. Chelsea are in a complete free-fall and a scrappy win against Maccabi Tel-Aviv won’t win over many supporters heading into a huge Arsenal clash on Saturday.
Brendan McDonnell: 2-2 draw. Being a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, Maccabi Tel Aviv holds a curious place in my heart. That said, I can’t quite fathom what has happened to this Chelsea squad. What happened to 2014 Nemanja Matić? When did JT finally play like he was 34? Why did 2nd half of season Cesc show up in the 1st half? All of this plus a less than enthusiastic crowd makes me think that the Bridge faithful will go home with a bad taste in their mouth.
As for me? Sorry, but collapses like Chelsea’s are rare. Therefore I am betting on it continuing as the Blues fall 2-0.
We’re doing these picks throughout the season and tallying how (un)successful we are. There are 5 points for a correct score and 2 for a correct result. Here are the current standings after two completed rounds:
| Name | Games Played | Correct Score | Correct Result | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajitesh Rasgotra | 8 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Eric McCoy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Khaled Abdallah | 7 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Andre Carlisle | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Ayushman Basu | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| David Rouben | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Connor Tomko | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Andrew Martin | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Brendan McDonnell | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Ollie Browning | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Marco Vonderheide | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Daniel Childs | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Devesh Rasgotra | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Anoop Ramakrishnan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Joseph Williams | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Gaurav Sardesai | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mark Treadwell | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Neel Madhavan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Joshua Sutter | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Taylor Anderson | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ejoh Celestine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Fraser | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Strauss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Well, that’s our say, have yours in the comments below!
Next: Maccabi Tel-Aviv Game Hub