Basel - Match Preview

[Strike 7,217]

It is matchday five in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage season and Chelsea travel to Switzerland to face FC Basel at St.Jakob Park on Tuesday at 19:45 GMT looking to book their place in the Last 16 of the competition.

Jose Mourinho's side will be looking to gain revenge on their opponents after the Swiss side shocked Chelsea when they met on matchday one at Stamford Bridge. Murat Yakin's team fell behind to an opener goal from Oscar but managed to rally and secured a shock 2-1 win through goals from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller to record their first ever European win on English soil.

However, Basel have not managed to capitalize on that surprising win since as they have garnered just 2 points in the subsequent three matches against Schalke and - twice - Steaua Bucharest. With a trip to Germany to face Schalke in the final group game, Basel will be keen to get their Champions League campaign back on track and claim a shock double over their illustrious opponents on Tuesday if they are to have any hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have responded excellently since that opening day defeat as they have 3 games on the trot against Schalke - twice - and Steaua Bucharest, scoring 10 goals and conceded none and they will be looking to continue the winning run on Tuesday. While a draw would be enough to secure the 2012 Champions League winners place in the last 16, a win would not only achieve that but also effectively winning the group due to having a 3-point lead and a better head-to-head record over second placed Schalke with one game remaining.

About the Opposition

Basel top the Swiss Super League by three points after coming from behind to beat Thun 4-1 on Saturday with top-scorer Marco Streller on target. Basel have only lost 2 of their 26 competitive matches this season - against FC Zurich and Schalke - and are unbeaten in their last 8 matches in all competitions though half of those have ended in draws.

Past Meetings

25th April 2013 - Basel 1-2 Chelsea (in Europa League SF)

2nd May 2013 - Chelsea 3-1 Basel (in Europa League SF)

18th September 2013 - Chelsea 1-2 Basel (in Champions League GS)

Team News

Basel will be without Chilean midfielder Marcelo Diaz who picked up an injury on international duty. They will also be missing Behrang Safari due to a thigh problem.

Chelsea have Fernando Torres fit again after the Spanish striker missed the last two games against West Brom and West Ham due to injury but David Luiz will be out for this game with a sore knee and has not travelled with the squad to Switzerland, Mourinho told the press conference earlier. That means that Jose Mourinho could have a full squad to pick from barring Marco van Ginkel, who is a long-term absentee

Possible Lineups

Basel: Vailati; Voser, Schar, Xhaka, Ajeti; Stocker, Die, Frei, El Nenny; Streller, Sio

Chelsea: Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Cole Mikel Ramires Schurrle Oscar Hazard Torres

Stats and Facts

- Basel are unbeaten in their last 4 games against English opposition in the Champions League - W2 D2. They have lost only once in 7 games against English teams in this competition - W2 D4 L1.

- Basel's overall European home record against English teams - P10 W3 D3 L4

- Chelsea were 29 home group stage games unbeaten prior to their 2-1 loss to FC Basel 1893 on matchday one.

- Chelsea's next draw in UEFA competition will be their 50th.

- Chelsea have finished as winners of their group in seven of the last ten campaigns and qualified as runners-up in two of the others.

- Chelsea have failed to score in just one of their last 24 Champions League games

- Mourinho, who has lifted the trophy with both FC Porto (2004) and Internazionale (2010), is bidding to become the first manager to win the Champions League with three different teams

- Basel have only kept 8 clean sheets in 26 competitive matches in all competitions this season.

Match Odds

Basel WIN 3/1

Draw 27/11

Chelsea WIN 11/13

Coverage:

Depending on where you are from, you can watch the match in the following channels:

United Kingdom: Sky Go UK, Sky Sports 2/HD
United States: FOX Sports 1
Middle East: Al Jazeera Sports
Brazil: ESPN, ESPN3 South America, ESPN Play Latin America

Belgium: Belgacom 11+
India: TEN Sports LIVE, Ten HD
For additional regions, you can check out the TV schedule for the match here.

There should be many match streams that can be found online if your local sports channels are not broadcasting the game or if you happen to be busy and cannot catch the game live, follow TalkChelsea on Twitter as it would provide live match commentary on the action.

Click here to view article

[Jase 43,479]

*bump*