Schalke - Match Preview

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Venue: Chelsea face Schalke at 19:45 GMT on Wednesday, November 6th, at Stamford Bridge.

The Match: This match comes as part of the 4th round of the Champions League group stages. Chelsea come into this match on top of Group E on head-to-head encounters with Schalke with 6 points from 2 wins and that one home loss to Basel in the opening fixture. The Blues will be looking to use this match to bounce back after a disappointing and unexpected defeat to Newcastle at the weekend that ended a 6 game win-streak throughout October and left Jose Mourinho a very frustrated figure.

Previous Meeting: Schalke would still be having nightmares from our last encounter 2 weeks ago. Despite having most of the possession, the Germans suffered a huge 3-0 defeat at home with Fernando Torres bagging a brace before Hazard added a late third.

Jose Mourinho seemed very content to let the opposition have the ball and pass it around in the middle (Scahkle completed 611 passes as compared to 391 for Chelsea) while relying on the counter in attacks, to great effect as well. Schalke, on the other hand, attempted a kind of dynamic high pressure with players having interchangeable defensive pressuring role. The system seemed very flawed as Chelsea found many gaps and acres of space when they got past the first line of pressure.

Meanwhile the Germans looked unsure what to do with possession when Chelsea defended deep and narrow. Only 5 of their 31 crosses into the box were successful. They had real trouble creating any real chances.

This time around, the story is likely to be very different. Playing away from home, Schalke will tend to sit deeper and leave fewer gaps while relying on the counter; something that has cause Chelsea a lot of trouble this season (and the few past seasons, as well). We might be playing at home this time, but it will probably be a much more difficult game than the one in Germany.

Key Players: Despite not shining against us in Germany, Schalke would still be looking for thir young start, Julian Draxler, for inspiration. One of the highest rated youngsters in the world, Draxler has been by far Schalke’s stand-out player this season. In the CL, he has 2 goals and an assist in the opening two matches. He will be their main threat down the wings.

Howdes is Schalke’s tempo-setter with more completed passes than any other player in Chelsea or Schalke have managed in the CL this season (159 passes). Press him and Schalke will suffer in getting the ball forward quickly.

Max Meyer has been turning a lot of heads in Germany and is looking like the latest Schalke academy product to go on and impress at the highest level. The 18yo became the youngest ever player in the history of the Bundes Liga to score in three consecutive matches. He is the man in form for the Germans.

Team News: Schalke still haven’t recovered from their injury crisis. Huntelaar (knee), Jefferson Farfan (groin), Marco Hoger (knee) and Chinedu Obasi (tibia) will all miss the trip to London, while Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos (knee) is a doubt. Jens Keller will again have his hands tied when it comes to team selection.

Chelsea, on the other hands, will be missing their European goal machine, a.k.a Fernando Torres after he suffered a muscular injury in training. Ryan Bertrand is also a doubt after he picked up a knock as well. Marco Van Ginkel remains out of the picture for a few months to come. Jose Mourinho, frustrated from the Newcastle defeat, vowed to make changes, so expect to see a few players who missed out on Saturday to start today.

Expected Lineups: Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Iva, Cahill, JT©, Cole; Rami, Mikel; Hazard, KDB, Schurrle; Eto’o.

Schalke (4-2-3-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes ©, Matip, Aogo; Neustadter, Jones; Clemens, Meyer, Draxler; Meyer.

Match Facts:

- Chelsea have won five and drawn the other of their six Champions League home games against German sides (keeping five clean sheets in the process).

-Schalke have won two of their nine Champions League meetings against English sides (both against Arsenal).

-Chelsea haven’t kept three successive clean sheets in the Champions League since October 2010.

-The reverse fixture two weeks ago was the first time Schalke had failed to score in 12 Champions League matches.

-No team has hit the woodwork more than Chelsea this season (four times).

-Fernando Torres (eight) has scored more European goals than Lionel Messi (seven) in 2013.

Betting Odds: Chelsea 4/9 Draw 7/2 Schalke 7/1

Coverage:

Belgium: Belgacom 11+

Canada: Sportsnet

India: Ten HD

Middle East: Al Jazeera

UK: Sky Sports 2

United States: Fox Soccer

For additional regions, please check here

Streams are likely to be provided in the live match thread. In addition to that Talk Chelsea will provide a live match commentary on its Twitter account.

Note: All stats are from StatsZone, betting odds from SkyBet.

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[Shakez 755]

KDB over Willian??

[CHOULO19 24,332]

KDB over Willian??

If it were down to me. Kevin knows German opposition very well. Plus, I don't like Willian centrally, he's best on the wings where he can use his pace, but I think Schurrle and Eden will start there. Jose said he's going to make changes, so why not Kevin over Oscar and Mata who have both been under-performing.

[Jase 43,479]

If it were down to me. Kevin knows German opposition very well. Plus, I don't like Willian centrally, he's best on the wings where he can use his pace, but I think Schurrle and Eden will start there. Jose said he's going to make changes, so why not Kevin over Oscar and Mata who have both been under-performing.

If you are putting out a lineup that is down to you, perhaps you should have stated there 'Preferred Lineups' rather than 'Expected Lineups'......

[The only place to be 11,313]

Since when has Oscar been under-performing? He's been our player of the season so far right up until the point we shifted him to the right-wing against Newcastle.

I'm hoping he'll be back in the middle today, putting in one of his all-action performances like he has been this season.

If you are putting out a lineup that is down to you, perhaps you should have stated there 'Preferred Lineups' rather than 'Expected Lineups'......

Wouldn't that just 11 Mikels?

I wouldn't be too surprised if we went with the same team that beat Schalke in the first leg.

[bassey 0]

Chelsea 4-1 Schalke 04 ahahha Young look http://www.xdball.com/

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

There's no way Kevin would be in the first 11 from being 6th choice in his position, especially considering the way he's performed for us so far. Other than that,good shout for the line up.

[Strike 7,490]

A little free with the lineups but good preview nonetheless

Chelsea, on the other hands, will be missing their European goal machine, a.k.a Fernando Torres after he suffered a muscular injury in training. Ryan Bertrand is also a doubt after he picked up a kock as well.

[Jase 43,479]

A little free with the lineups but good preview nonetheless

Considering it's Choo Choo, I'm not surprised one bit with those 'kock' ups..

[CHOULO19 24,332]

And all that everybody noticed from that whole article was KDB....

:doh: :doh:

A little free with the lineups but good preview nonetheless

Hey, that's the way I heard it! Those things can be dangerous, you know!

[Rmpr 8,977]

Choulo, really good article mate, but you lost me on the KDB thing...

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Choulo, really good article mate, but you lost me on the KDB thing...

I just thought that since Jose said he was angry and would be making changes then maybe this would be the perfect game to make a "shock" and play Kevin since he knows German opposition. It was just a thought, I didn't talk about him in the article or anything. In fact, the lineups are probably the things that I gave the least importance to since no one really knows who the managers will really pick.

Meaning, let the Kevin thing go, please!

[Jase 43,479]

I just thought that since Jose said he was angry and would be making changes then maybe this would be the perfect game to make a "shock" and play Kevin since he knows German opposition. It was just a thought, I didn't talk about him in the article or anything. In fact, the lineups are probably the things that I gave the least importance to since no one really knows who the managers will really pick.

Meaning, let the Kevin thing go, please!

Yes, but one would expect a fair representation or objectivity of what the manager would pick. I don't necessarily always disagree with such lineups but looking at this, it's more of a 'preferred' one as opposed to an 'expected' one.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Yes, but one would expect a fair representation or objectivity of what the manager would pick. I don't necessarily always disagree with such lineups but looking at this, it's more of a 'preferred' one as opposed to an 'expected' one.

"Expected" by whom exactly?!

[Rmpr 8,977]

It would be so fucking hilarious if KDB actually starts!

EDIT: Although it would be unfair.

[The only place to be 11,313]

"Expected" by whom exactly?!

The supporters.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The supporters.

I didn't realize there was just the one line-up that was expected by all supporters, silly me

[Jase 43,479]

"Expected" by whom exactly?!

Not that this is a big issue OR it's completely wrong but it should all be about objectivity, not subjectivity.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I didn't realize there was just the one line-up that was expected by all supporters, silly me

There isn't. Amongst the Chelsea support you'll find a number of views on what the line-up should be. Then there will be the teams they expect Chelsea to name. Some might think Mikel or Lampard should be in, others that Cahill or Luiz should be.

I doubt you'll see any supporters who 'expect' De Bruyne to start though. That would be a 'surprise' (or to use your word, 'shock') pick, as it would go against what people expected.

[bushman 2,043]

Currently, KDB has no chance to be in the lineup.

Jose knows, this game is about moving on from the group in the 1st place.

I would not be too surprised to see both Schurrle & William on tonight.