The Blues open their Champions League campaign tonight as they take on Maccabi Tel Aviv
What a mess. Four points in five Premier League games. One point off the relegation zone. No signs of improvement. Chelsea FC’s 2015/16 campaign has begun in an astonishingly bad manner. The good news, though, is that tonight sees the Blues take on Maccabi Tel Aviv in their first game of this season’s edition of the Champions League.
Basically we can pretend that this is something completely new and that NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.
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But that just isn’t going to happen. Chelsea desperately need a win to spark something within them. Maccabi have made it to the Champions League, but they really should be no match for the Blues. Having said that, Swansea City, Crystal Palace and Everton shouldn’t have been a match for the Blues either.
Chelsea are devoid of creativity and the Stamford Bridge faithful will be hoping that the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa can find some sort of semblance of the form that led the team to a Premier League and League Cup double last season. They will also be looking to Pedro to bring some of that Barcelona flair to the party.
Furthermore, Jose Mourinho may be ringing the changes in an effort to wake the squad up. Oscar and Abdul Baba Rahman are both expected to feature while speculation is that Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic will be saved a seat on the bench.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv, meanwhile, will almost certainly be looking to take advantage of Chelsea’s current predicament. Mourinho stated in his pre-match press conference that the Israeli outfit may be setting up with five defenders but should that be the case, there is no doubt that Maccabi will be looking to counter with great speed.
With that in mind, here is all that you need to know about this now massive game.
Chelsea FC v Maccabi Tel Aviv, 16th September 2015
Champions League Group Stage Matchday 1
Venue: Stamford Bridge
KO: 19:45 BST, 14:45 ET
TV: BT Sport 2 (UK), check your country’s local listings here
Make sure you check back in with us as we will post the teams right here as soon as they are available. In the meantime, head to our big game hub page at this link.
Chelsea FC Team:
Starting XI: Asmir Begovic; Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill (c), Abdul Baba Rahman; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesc Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Eden Hazard; Loic Remy.
Substitutes: Jamal Blackman, John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires, Nemanja Matic, Bertrand Traore, Diego Costa
Maccabi Tel Aviv Team:
Starting XI: Predrag Rajkovic; Omri Ben Harush, Eitan Tibi, Tal Ben Haim I, Yuval Shpungin; Gal Alberman; Avi Rikan, Nikola Mitrovic, Nosa Igiebor, Tal Ben Haim II; Eran Zahavi (c)
Substitutes: Daniel Lifshitz, Carlos Garcia, Dor Micha, Gil Vermouth, Dor Peretz, Barak Yitzhaki, Dejan Radonjic
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