A few hours remain before Chelsea face Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League opener for the 2025/26 season. The Blues will aim to begin their European campaign with a positive result after being absent from the competition for two years but have been handed one of the toughest tests possible.
Bayern Munich are a very strong side and have won every match so far this season. Chelsea will need to deliver a solid performance to get a positive result at the Allianz Arena. The club are well capable of delivering that, having some of the world's best talents in their squad. However, players like Liam Delap and Levi Colwill remain sidelined for the foreseeable future and will miss the game.
Meanwhile, Cole Palmer and Estevao are expected to return to the starting XI, as previously predicted in an earlier report. Many players will also make their Champions League debut in the Royal Blue jersey.
Anyway, if Brentford’s match was any indication of what’s to be expected from this team on an individual level, one of the starters should be dropped if Chelsea want to see this match through. While it’s a tough stance to take, we think it’s a necessary one that the manager will have to consider.
Chelsea player must be dropped against Bayern Munich
The player in question is the newly arrived Jamie Gittens. The winger’s performance since his move to Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund has been lacklustre, to put it mildly.
It’s not that Gittens is definitely a bad signing or lacks quality. However, he clearly needs some time to fit into the squad. The player has appeared in four matches so far but has failed to impress even once. What’s more worrying is the winger’s seeming inability to get past defenders recently, despite it being one of the aspects he was best known for during his time in Germany.
In a high-stakes matchup like Bayern Munich, there’s no point in taking unnecessary risks, especially with Pedro Neto in top form and Estevao also performing well. So, these two should be the ones to start the matchup on the two flanks.
Enzo Maresca also has the option to sub in Alejandro Garnacho later on if needed. That said, these are just suggestions, and the manager knows what’s best for the team. We trust his decision and look forward to seeing how he approaches this matchup as Chelsea mark their return to the Champions League.