Group C’s two unbeaten teams meet in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, with Antonio Conte’s Chelsea hosting Italian giants AS Roma at Stamford Bridge. The blues have already earned important wins over Qarabag and Atletico Madrid, with another victory all but guaranteeing their place in the knock-out phase of the competition.
Champions League – Stamford Bridge, London – Wednesday 18th October – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 3 at Sky Bet |
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Chelsea
AS RomaMatch Preview Chelsea vs AS Roma
2012 Champions League winners Chelsea take on Roma in West London on Wednesday, with the Premier League champions hoping to make it three wins from three in Group C. Both teams are coming into the match off the back of disappointing domestic defeats, only providing more motivation for the duo at Stamford Bridge.
There is little to choose between the two teams and as a result, there are a whole host of betting markets worth exploiting in the build-up to the clash. First however, let’s take a closer look at the two teams.
Chelsea Team News & Form
Chelsea suffered a shock defeat to Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace at the weekend, with Antonio Conte’s players undoubtedly determined to make amends at the first time of asking. N’Golo Kante is set to miss out on the encounter through injury, meaning that summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko should continue in a midfield birth. However, Alvaro Morata has surprisingly been declared fit, with the former Real Madrid man having enjoyed a fine start to life in England. Chelsea earned an excellent away win at Atletico Madrid last time around, backing up their opening week victory against Qarabag. Chelsea are notoriously a difficult team to beat at home, with the likes of David Luiz and Gary Cahill offering Conte experienced options for defensive roles.
AS Roma Team News & Form
Roma have also made a positive start to their Champions League campaign, drawing with former finalists Atletico, before narrowly winning away in Azerbaijan. Manager Eusebio Di Francesco will be delighted to have the likes of Kevin Strootman and Stephan El Shaarawy back in his ranks, while players including Edin Dzeko, Radja Nainggolan and Daniele De Rossi should help to make up an ominous looking starting eleven for the visitors. Despite losing at home to Napoli last time around, Roma are a team who are capable of causing an upset in London, winning five of their opening seven Serie A matches this season.
Head to Head
The two teams met in the Champions League back in 2008, with Roma making up for a narrow defeat at Stamford Bridge by defeating the English side in Rome by three goals to one. However, with such matches taking place just under a decade ago, there is little conclusions to be made surrounding such matches.
Betting Odds and Predictions
With the top two teams in Group C meeting this week, there is little to separate the duo in terms of the online betting markets. The blues can be backed at best odds of 8/13 with William Hill, while the same bookmakers offer Roma as the underdogs at 5/1. However, with Chelsea yet to find their best form so far this season, backing both teams to score is well worth considering, with Ladbrokes offering their customers odds of 3/4.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on there being under 2.5 goals come the end of 90 minutes, which is available at odds of 43/40 at Ladbrokes.