Belgium international attacking midfielder Eden Hazard was dropped by Blues boss Jose Mourinho for last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa due to his lack of work rate, but is expected to be reinstated this evening along with Nemanja Matic, for the Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine.
When the Portuguese manager was asked if he would be bringing Hazard back into the team for tonight’s match, the special one played his cards close to his chest so as not to give his opponents an edge.
Meanwhile Pedro and Remy are both out injured for the match so were not included in the trip out to Eastern Europe where Chelsea will take on Dynamo Kiev at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium.
Goalkeeper
Asmir Begovic remains in goal for the Blues and will remain so until such time as Chelsea No.1 Thibaut Courtois is deemed fit enough to return following his recovery from knee surgery that could keep him out for ten weeks.
Defence
The highly experienced John Terry and Gary Cahill with be a the heart of the Blues defence looking to help ensure anther clean sheet, while normal left-back César Azpilicueta will switch to the right side of the park in order to accommodate new signing Baba Rahman.
Midfield
Serbian international Nemanja Matic should return to the team after coming on in the second half against Aston Villa with Mourinho saying he is suffering from a lack of confidence.
“Confidence is fundamental. Matic lost an easy pass when he came on, on Saturday, and the first reaction he had was to show a disappointment,” Mourinho said.
“When you are full of confidence you don’t show disappointment. You make a mistake, you know that you’re not going to make another mistake after. So (stay) calm, let’s go step by step.
“When you are a little bit fragile, simple. Make it simple. Think quick, make the right decision. Take the ball out of the pressure zone. Don’t be worried about making a beautiful pass.
“Make just sure that you don’t lose the ball, because if you lose the ball, you lose confidence. So, you know, step by step, step by step.
Alongside Matic will be Cesc Fabregas, a player who is yet this season to show what he is capable off after a stellar showing during the last campaign.
Chelsea’s best player by far has been William, who could put on a display tonight in the country where he made a name for himself while playing at Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to London, and following Hazard’s public dressing down we expect him to return to the team working together Oscar as the Blues go for those all-important away goals.
Attack
Just two words to say here and they are Diego Costa. The Brazilian born striker will be looking to add to the goal he scored on Saturday and should keep the Kiev defenders busy which will hopefully open up room for other Chelsea players to score.
Conclusion
It is very hard to know which Chelsea team will turn up these days, but given Jose Mourinho’s desire to win the Champions League with Chelsea, you can be sure he will not being going to Kiev looking for the draw, so back Chelsea to win at odds of 15/8 with BET365.
