Chelsea – Basel 18.09.2013

Chelsea will be aiming to win their third consecutive European title when they kick off their Champions League campaign with a home match against Basel.

After they win the Europa League title, Chelsea will try to go as far as possible in the Champions League this term. Nonetheless, Jose Mourinho, who has replaced Rafa Benitez as a Chelsea coach, does not think that the Champions League trophy should be the teamˈs main goal this season. The Blues kicked off their Premier League campaign in great manner, but the team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Everton at the weekend and they are currently in sixth position in the standings, three points behind the league leaders Liverpool. Over the summer the Blues management has signed the likes of Schurrle, Etoˈo, Willian, but the new names have yet to find their form this term. Chelsea look more solid and organized than the last season, but the team struggle up front. It seems as if Mourinhoˈs rotation policy is not working well and I believe that the Special One will have to pick one central forward and count on him for a while. Chelsea have already lost one final this season as they were beaten by Bayern Munich on penalties in the European Super Cup, therefore, I believe that the team will put a lot of effort to defeat Basel at their Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

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Basel will be aiming to record yet another promising result in European competitions when they square off against Chelsea on Wednesday night. The Swiss champions largely impressed last season, but they failed to reach the final of the Europa League following a 5-2 defeat to Chelsea on aggregate. FCB take on the English side after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Muensingen in the Swiss cup. Against all odds the club chiefs have kept key player Mohamed Salah over the summer and the winger who has already scored a number of goals this season, is going to be the main threat for the Blues at Stamford Bridge. On the other hand, defender Fabian Schaer netted three goals as Switzerland picked up four points against Iceland and Norway this month and closed in on a spot in next year’s World Cup. I believe that FCB are capable of netting at least one goal against Chelsea as they managed to find the net against the Blues in last two occasions.