{"id":279434,"date":"2018-11-07T21:27:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T02:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=279434"},"modified":"2018-11-07T21:27:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T02:27:26","slug":"group-leaders-chelsea-travel-to-bate-borisov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2018\/11\/07\/group-leaders-chelsea-travel-to-bate-borisov\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Leaders Chelsea Travel To BATE Borisov"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday evening Chelsea<\/a> face a long trip to Belarus for the first time in their history, as they continue their quest for Europa League glory.<\/p>\n

Chelsea Travel To BATE Borisov in Crucial Europa League Clash<\/h1>\n

The Blues opponents are Belarusian Champions BATE Borisov. They convincingly beat the hosts 3-1 at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago thanks to a stunning Ruben Loftus-Cheek<\/a> hattrick.<\/p>\n

BATE will be buoyed by the fact they clinched the Belarussian Premier League title at the weekend, with a 1-0 victory over Neman Grodno. Yuri Berezkin’s 88th minute winner was the difference in confirming a thirteenth consecutive title, their fifteenth overall.<\/p>\n

Chelsea will also be full of confidence after a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace stretched the West-London club’s unbeaten start to the season to 16 matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n

A Blues victory would confirm qualification to the knockout stages as they sit top of group L with a maximum 9 points from 3 games. BATE are level on 3 points with group rivals PAOK and Mol Vidi, but sit bottom of the group due to an inferior goal difference.<\/p>\n

Team News<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chelsea host Everton on Sunday, and so Maurizio Sarri will once again ring the changes. The squad that has travelled to Minsk has some notable absences – Marcos Alonso<\/a>, Antonio Rudiger<\/a>, David Luiz<\/a>, Alvaro Morata<\/a> and Victor<\/a> Moses<\/a> have all been rested. In addition Cesc Fabregas<\/a> has not travelled due to suffering from a fever.<\/p>\n

Sarri also confirmed that Eden Hazard<\/a> will not complete 90 minutes as he continues his rehabilitation from a back injury. The Belgian was missing for recent home games against BATE and Derby County, but returned for a cameo appearance against Crystal Palace on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The likes of Gary Cahill<\/a>, Andreas Christensen<\/a>, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek<\/a> will all be in contention for a place in the starting line up. A golden opportunity to impress Sarri in the hope of cementing a more regular starting spot.<\/p>\n

Also youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu will hope to get a chance of gaining valuable experience from the bench.<\/p>\n

The 2nd qualifying spot is still up for grabs. With this in mind, BATE boss Alyaksey Baha is certain to field his strongest possible starting XI.<\/p>\n

Predicted Starting Line-Ups:<\/h2>\n

Bate Borisov:\u00a0Scherbitski, Rios ,Filipovic, Filipenko – Volodko, Baga ,Dragun, Hleb -Skavysh, Signevich, Stasevich.<\/p>\n

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Zappacosta, Emerson, Cahill, Christensen – Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Barkley –\u00a0 Willian, Pedro, Giroud.<\/p>\n

Key Players:<\/h2>\n

Alexandr Hleb:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 35-year-old is now in the twilight of his career but brings a wealth of experience that included a three-year spell with Arsenal, and four years at Barcelona. His legs might not be as youthful, but his experience will be vital if BATE are to inflict an upset.<\/p>\n

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: <\/strong><\/p>\n

The 22-year-old has been waiting for his big chance under Sarri. Two weeks ago he delivered a masterful performance, showing exactly why Chelsea fans have been purring over his ability for so long.<\/p>\n

Verdict<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chelsea dominated the previous meeting, and really should have secured a more convincing scoreline. Therefore a comfortable victory for The Blues is the most likely outcome.<\/p>\n

The Blues will, however, need to be wary of how big the fixture is to BATE. They will need to keep their cool and stay professional in what will be a fiery atmosphere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main image credit:<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>