A difficult game will ensue when Thomas Tuchel takes his side to Spain where they will face Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie.
The fixture that should have been played at the Estadio Metropolitano, the Spanish side’s home ground but, because of the current pandemic, it will now take place at the Arena Națională in Romania’s capital Bucharest.
Whilst Chelsea remain unbeaten since Tuchel arrived, the frailties in their forward line were again clear for all to see as they fought out a 1-1 draw on Saturday against Southampton at St Mary’s.
There was somewhat of a ‘wake up’ call too for Callum Hudson-Odoi who suffered the ignominy of being called on as a substitute before being withdrawn after just 30 minutes.
TIMO VERNER TO SCORE ANYTIME vs ATLETICO: 4.50
Hopefully, the incident won’t affect his standing in the side and the manager’s decision will in fact, serve to motivate him to prove his worth.
In 2017, Chelsea were the first side to play at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano after Diego Simeone’s club moved from their old ground, the Estadio Vincente Calderón.
The Spaniards had taken a 40th minute lead in the Champions League group stage match when Griezmann converted a penalty only for Alvaro Morata to level the score for the English side on the hour – but with seconds remaining, Michy Batshuayi hit home the winner to give Chelsea a famous victory.
The previous six encounters – all in the Champions League – have seen Chelsea win two, draw two and lose one, that defeat tellingly coming at Stamford Bridge in the 2014 semi-final.
Timo Werner was denied the chance to get on the score sheet on Saturday due to the fact that Mason Mount took and successfully converted the penalty that Chelsea were awarded.
However, I’m backing the German to grab a goal at anytime during the game, which is currently 4.50 with our friends at FansBet.
About the Author
Londoner David Johnstone is a home, away and European away Chelsea supporter and has missed just six matches since 2001 (although he’s quick to state there are plenty of other supporters with better attendance records than him).
He has been involved with the fanzine scene at Chelsea since around 1991 and started the ‘cfcuk’ fanzine in 1999 which was, until Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003, named ‘Matthew Harding’s Blue And White Army’.
David was also responsible for forming both the Chelsea Supporters’ Group and the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust which are the main two bodies that represent the followers of Chelsea FC and take their concerns to those running the club.
A founder of the highly regarded Chelsea FanCast weekly podcast (but is no longer involved) and responsible for the crowd surfing banners and supporter displays that are seen in the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge on matchday.
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