Will Chelsea walk over Qarabag? Or will it be a tighter contest than expected? Here are our predictions for the Blues’ Champions League return!
Travis Tyler: 4-0. Qarabag is a bit of an unknown quantity. The only team familiar to Chelsea fans who have played them is Tottenham. Their clashes in the 2015/2016 Europa League Group stage resulted in a 3-1 win at White Hart Lane and a 1-0 win in Baku. Chelsea should be rotated and this will be a chance to see the fringe players flourish in what should be a routine win.
Barrett Rouen: 7-0 Chelsea. Musonda Jr with a hat trick and some other fantastically fun moments as well.
Kevin Peacock: 5-0. Despite the scoreline, Qarabag put up a good fight and keep the score down. However, a late appearance by Eden Hazard see’s a flourish of goals in the final 20 minutes of the game as the Horsemen run out of horse power.
Qarabag FK: The Barcelona of the Caucasus
Abhishek Pancholi: 6-0. Musonda to start, bag a brace and generally torment the Qarabagians (is that a word?) to the point that they’ll want to be anywhere but on the pitch. He’ll go off to a standing ovation and be replaced by Hazard for the final 20 minutes. Go Charly!
Vishnu Raj: 5-0. A very comfortable match. Michy and Willian to score. Christensen and Cahill to have a solid outing in their return to the first team.
Daniel McClue: 1-0 Chelsea. This fixture worries me for some reason, although I am a nervous Nelly. The Blues rotate too much and look completely out of sorts, missing simple passes and trying too many flicks. Hazard has to play 30 minutes and ends up saving his team.
Scott Brant: 4-0. Chelsea win with ease against the weaker Qarabag. Conte will have his men take their foot off the gas at some point, 4 goals could be 6. There will be a Hazard sighting, maybe a Michy sighting as well. Pretty easy match.
Brendan McDonnell: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Wiki & YouTube deep dives into Qarabag Futbol Klubu but I don’t get the impression this will be close. As for the match, I think we’ll be seeing a replay of the Chelsea v. Maribor (2014) & Steaua Bucharest (2013) that both took place at the Bridge. Chelsea will run all over our Horsemen friends from Azerbaijan with a 4-0 victory.
Next: Five things to look for as Chelsea take on Qarabag
What is your prediction? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below!