Chelsea will look to end their poor recent stretch of results when they host Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Blues have won just one of their last five games across all competitions. It was a 2-1 second-half comeback win against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup after struggling mightily in the first.
Considering just Premier League and Champions League, however, Chelsea are in the middle of a four-game run without a win. Two of them came with disciplinary issues, going down to 10 men early on against Manchester United and just after half-time against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Benfica
Chelsea (4-3-3): Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Acheampong, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos, Fernandez; Estevao, Neto, Joao Pedro.
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Enzo Maresca switched things up a little bit against Brighton. He fielded Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos and Enzo Fernandez all at once – and they behaved more as a trio than when there’s three midfielders on at the same time.
There’s a chance he sticks to that against Benfica to see how the idea develops. After all, the Italian didn’t get to use it the whole time, taking Santos off after Trevoh Chalobah’s red card.
Elsewhere, there are a few possibilities. Either Reece James or Malo Gusto could play as the right-back. Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong, Benoit Badiashile and Jorrel Hato will battle it out for the centre-back spots.
Two of Pedro Neto, Estevao and Jamie Gittens could be deployed on the wings. Up front, Joao Pedro is basically the Blues’ only alternative.
Chelsea team news vs Benfica
Maresca won’t be able to count on a few different players this upcoming week. Levi Colwill remains out with an ACL injury, while Liam Delap is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Cole Palmer and Tosin Adarabioyo won’t return until after the next international break.
Fofana suffered a concussion against Lincoln and was out of contention against Brighton, but could come back in the Benfica game.
Since Chalobah is suspended for the next Premier League game, there is a chance he starts in the Champions League. However, he hasn’t been in the finest of form recently and could be left on the bench.
Potential partner Acheampong struggled after coming on against the Seagulls and maybe Maresca tries out something different.
Favourable match-up?
Chelsea might be struggling in the Premier League, but Benfica haven’t been a safe bet in Portugal either.
Their shocking 2-3 home defeat to Qarabag after going up 2-0 cost Bruno Lage his job and the club announced Jose Mourinho as their new manager.
The Aguias beat Gil Vicente on his debut, but were probably lucky to have come out on top, after conceding more shots (10 to 16), big chances (2 to 3) and Expected Goals (1.3 xG to 1.7 xG).
Another favourable argument for the Blues is their head-to-head history against Benfica. The teams have faced off four times in European competitions and Chelsea have won every single one of them. Including a recent match-up last June in the Fifa Club World Cup (4-1).
Mourinho also hasn’t had a lot of luck facing his former club, winning just four of his 14 games against Chelsea in his career.
Things haven’t been easy for the Blues lately and there can still be some time until they get everything back on track. But even then, Benfica might not be up to their standards.
Of course, there will be an extra incentive for the Special One to work his magic, so who knows. This one will definitely be worth watching.