2021 winners Chelsea will be looking to make it three wins in a row both in the Champions League and all competitions when they take on Qarabag tonight.
Fresh off the most one-sided 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the Premier League at the weekend, the Blues make the long trip to Azerbaijan where they will be hoping to build on back-to-back victories over Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Ajax in the last two matchdays.
On a night headlined by Man City vs. Dortmund at the Etihad, Chelsea are rightfully huge favourites to beat Qarabag but Enzo Maresca will be reminding his side of the dangers posed by one of the stories of the competition's early weeks.
The minnows stunned Benfica in gameweek 1 before toppling Copenhagen and then causing Athletic Club (Newcastle's opponents tonight) an almighty scare last time out.
Will Chelsea avoid a major upset or will Qarabag pull one of the great European results? AllSportsPeople brings you this betting preview complete with the latest tips, predictions and odds.
Qarabag Chelsea: quién gana hoy
This really should be a routine win for the Blues if they are professional and do the job Maresca asks of them. However, the conditions could be tricky and Qarabag have shown they are not to be taken lightly, but Chelsea should make it three wins on the bounce in Europe. It's important they do so given it's Barcelona up next for the Blues, who take on Club Brugge tonight.
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Qarabag faces Chelsea
- The two clubs have met on two previous occasions, both of which came in the 2017/18 Champions League group stages.
- Then champions of England, the Blues hammered the Azerbaijani side 6-0 at home and 4-0 away.
Qarabag-Chelsea Form
Qarabag: 5 games last
- Qarabag 2-0 Mil-Mugan (Azerbaijani Premier League)
- Qarabag 0-0 Shamakhi (Azerbaijani Premier League)
- Athletic Club 3-1 Qarabag (Champions League)
- Turan 1-2 Qarabag (Azerbaijani Premier League)
- Qarabag 1-0 Kapaz (Azerbaijani Premier League)
Chelsea: 5 recent games
- Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
- Wolves 3-4 Chelsea (League Cup)
- Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland (Premier League)
- Chelsea 5-1 Ajax (Champions League)
- Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea (Premier League)
Qarabag-Chelsea Score
Chelsea are likely to make several changes to the side that easily beat Spurs at the weekend but it will still be a side brimming with young attacking talent.
The likes of Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Marc Guiu will be looking to force their way into Maresca's first XI too and this is a good chance for them to stake a claim.
Liam Delap could make his Champions League debut after recovering from a thigh injury, if Maresca has forgiven him for his reckless sending off in the Carabao Cup win over Wolves.
Expect a few goals from the Blues in a routine win.
Prediction: Qarabag 1-3 Chelsea (10/1 with Bet365)
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Qarabag Chelsea team update
Qarabag Team Update
- Qarabag continue to be without Ramil Sheydayev and Joni Montiel, who are not in their Champions League squad.
- Leandro Andrade is Qarabag's main goal threat, having scored three times already in this season's competition.
Chelsea Squad Update
- Joao Pedro - the matchwinner at Spurs - is back from a European suspension and should start here with Enzo Maresca shuffling his deck.
- Moises Caicedo and Reece James may be rested, while Estevao, Marc Guiu and Jamie Gittens could all start.
Qarabag-Chelsea XI
This is how we think these two sides will line up tonight, with Moises Caicedo getting a rare rest and Romeo Lavia coming into midfield to build his fitness. Elsewhere, there could be starts for Jamie Gittens, Estevao and Marc Guiu, as well as several changes in Maresca's defence. Qarabag's attacking midfielder Leandro Andrade will look to add to his goals against Benfica and Athletic Club.
Qarabag vs Chelsea lineup
(4-2-3-1) Kochalski (GK) — Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Cafarquliyev — Bicalho, Borges — Duran, Andrade, Zoubir — Akhundzade
Chelsea vs Qarabag predicted XI
(4-2-3-1) Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Cucurella — Lavia, Fernandez — Estevao, Pedro, Gittens; Guiu
Qarabag Chelsea betting
- Qarabag to Win: 8/1 AK Bets
- Chelsea to Win: 19/50 Bet365
- Draw: 9/2 AK Bets
Qarabag vs Chelsea tips
Our bet builder for this one is Chelsea to win with a -1 handicap, both teams to score, over 3.5 goals and Gittens to score anytime. This comes to overall best odds of 49.6/1 with Paddy Power. Create your own bet builder and compare top bookmaker odds with the tool provided.
Qarabag vs. Chelsea: Watch live stream, TV
Here's all the key information on how to watch Qarabag vs. Chelsea tonight.
- Date: Wednesday, November 5
- Venue: Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan
- Time: 5:45 p.m.
- TV/Stream: TNT Sports 2
Qarabağ: what's its location?
Qarabağ Futbol Klubu (FK) is a football club based in Baku, Azerbaijan, which plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club was originally from Agdam but moved to Baku because of the Nagorno-Karabakh War. They made history last month by becoming the first club from Azerbaijan to record back-to-back wins in the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 2-0 victory at home against Copenhagen, which followed a 3-2 win in Benfica in mid-September.