ANOTHER easy win for Chelsea? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) previews the match for us.
Maribor v Chelsea | Wednesday 19:45 | Sky Sports 1
I must admit, I was quite surprised at the ease of Chelsea’s victory in the match between these sides two weeks ago. I thought Under 3.5 Goals was a banker and backed it accordingly. Ouch!
I still feel that 6-0 loss was an aberration for Maribor. Before that game, they’d performed with great credit in all their Champions League matches. Aggregate wins over Zrinjski Mostar, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Celtic were followed by two group stage draws against Sporting Lisbon and Schalke, the latter away from home. Their Champions League 2014/15 home record reads: P4 W2 D2 L0.
How strong a side will Chelsea put out on Wednesday night? Qualification looks assured and they have Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime. We all know how clever Jose Mourinho is in selecting the correct-looking line up.
There was a suspicion that Chelsea eased off in last season’s group stage after qualification was (pretty much) assured. After beating Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in Romania, they only beat them by the odd goal at home in the final matchday. Two weeks before that, they’d lost 1-0 to Basle, no sweat though qualification looked secured.
So, following that narrative, am I right in thinking a narrow Chelsea win might be the call here? It’s what I’m certainly getting involved with, and I’ll do that through the Total Goals markets. It’s Under 2.5 Goals for me at 7/5 with Sportingbet. Small stakes, mind.
TOPICS European Football FootballBest Bet
Maribor v Chelsea – Under 2.5 Goals (7/5 Sportingbet)
