MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 14:57:19| >> :600:106023:106023:
Nov 5, 2019 at 8pm UK at ​Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 39,132
Chelsea
4-4
Ajax
Jorginho (5' pen., 71' pen.), Azpilicueta (63'), James (74')
FT(HT: 1-3)
Abraham (2' og.), Promes (20'), Arrizabalaga (35' og.), van de Beek (55')
Blind (68'), Veltman (69')

Preview: Chelsea vs. Ajax - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole provides team news, predicted lineups and a full preview of Tuesday's Champions League encounter between Chelsea and Ajax.

Chelsea and Ajax head in Tuesday's Champions League encounter at Stamford Bridge having both earned six points from their opening three matches in Group H.

However, as a result of their narrow 1-0 success in Amsterdam last month, the Premier League outfit hold the smallest of advantages over their Dutch rivals.


Match preview

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic celebrates scoring their third goal to complete his hat-trick on October 26, 2019© Reuters

After back-to-back setbacks against Valencia and Liverpool in September, few would have predicted that Chelsea would go on to win eight of their next nine matches in all competitions.

The upturn in form has put the Blues in a promising position on both the domestic and European front, and Frank Lampard will be eager to continue their positive run against quality opponents on Tuesday evening.

While Lampard will no doubt remain frustrated with his side struggling to keep many clean sheets, Chelsea have been impressive at the other end of the pitch with each of their attacking players all making a contribution.

The most notable recent return has come from Christian Pulisic, who has four strikes from his last two Premier League outings, but it was Tammy Abraham who chipped in with a goal and an assist as Chelsea recorded a 2-1 triumph away at Watford at the weekend.

Despite the West Londoners equalling their club record of seven successive away wins, Lampard's team cannot afford to get any complacency ahead of facing a side who have also been impressive of late.

Ajax's sole defeat from 19 matches in all competitions is the one against the English outfit on matchday three, with 14 wins and four draws coming from the other outings.

Erik ten Hag will have small concerns over how Ajax almost blew a three-goal advantage against PEC Zwolle at the weekend, before David Neres's late strike earned a 4-2 success.

Nevertheless, losing out to Chelsea has not had a detrimental effect on this group of players, who have already established a six-point advantage at the top of the Eredivisie standings.

While simply qualifying for the last 16 of this competition would be regarded as another significant achievement, Ten Hag knows that registering maximum points at Stamford Bridge would put the club in an excellent position to go through as group winners.

Chelsea form: WWWWLW

Ajax form: WWWLWW


Team News

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante scores the opening goal in his side's EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Tottenham Hotspur on January 24, 2019© Reuters

While N'Golo Kante is in contention to return from a groin injury on Tuesday night, Lampard may keep the Frenchman on the substitutes' bench as a result of Jorginho's domestic suspension at the weekend.

Andreas Christensen and Ross Barkley are also pushing for a recall, but Lampard's sole alteration could see Marcos Alonso return in place of Emerson Palmieri.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Michy Batshuayi may be under consideration for a place in the team should Lampard opt to hand a rest to Pulisic or Abraham.

Edson Alvarez could come back into the Ajax side, with Donny van de Beek being used in a role further forward.

That may result in Quincy Promes dropping out of the starting lineup, despite his double against PEC Zwolle at the weekend.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham

Ajax possible starting lineup: Onana; Mazraoui, Veltman, Blind, Tagliafico; Alvarez, Martinez; Neres, Van de Beek, Ziyech; Tadic


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Chelsea 1-2 Ajax

While Chelsea have recently shown their qualities away from home, we cannot look past their below-par performances at Stamford Bridge. While the Blues may settle for a draw here, Ajax could capitalise and gain revenge for their defeat two weeks ago.


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Who will win Tuesday's Champions League clash between Chelsea and Ajax?

Chelsea
Draw
Ajax
Chelsea
0.0%
Draw
0.0%
Ajax
0.0%
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Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring for Chelsea on October 2, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1110102591631
2Manchester CityMan City1181234102425
3Leicester CityLeicester117222781923
4Chelsea117222517823
5Arsenal114521615117
6Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd11443128416
7Bournemouth114431413116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton114341414015
9Crystal Palace114341014-415
10Manchester UnitedMan Utd113441311213
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs113441716113
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves112721414013
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham113441417-313
14Burnley113351418-412
15Newcastle UnitedNewcastle11335917-812
16Aston Villa113261618-211
17Everton113261117-611
18Southampton112271027-178
19Norwich CityNorwich112181126-157
20Watford11056623-175

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