Qarabag FK vs Chelsea. UEFA Champions League Group C.
Baku National StadiumAttendance67,100.
Wednesday 22 November 2017 17:55, UK
Chelsea will qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League if they beat Qarabag in Azerbaijan on Wednesday (kick-off 5pm, GMT).
Antonio Conte's side won the reverse fixture 6-0 in September but have stuttered since in Group C, drawing 3-3 at home against Roma and then losing 3-0 to the Serie A side.
Still, with Qarabag having drawn twice against Atletico Madrid, a win in Baku will see Chelsea secure a place in the next round, and a draw could be enough depending how Atletico fare against Roma.
Conte is confident that complacency will not be an issue against a team who were defeated 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in September.
The Italian said: "I have a squad with great maturity and they know very well the importance of the game and we must have great focus to beat a good team.
"Qarabag have drawn twice against Atletico Madrid and we know very well what a team Atletico is, and also Roma struggled a lot before winning."
Qarabag are still in with an outside shot of qualifying themselves, and are only one point behind Atletico in third place.
"We are preparing for a tough match," said manager Gurban Gurbanov. "It is an important match both for us and rival. We understand everything. We know the strength of our rival," he said.
"We will try to fight on the field till the end. This is our last match in Baku."
Chelsea have no fresh injuries for the match, but Conte may rotate his players, given the lengthy journey to Baku plus the proximity of Saturday's match at Liverpool, so David Luiz could return while Eden Hazard has been confirmed fit.
Striker Michy Batshuayi (ankle), forward Charly Musonda (knee) and right wing-back Victor Moses (hamstring) are absent alongside Kenedy, who has a minor muscular issue.
For the home side, winger Pedro Enrique is suspended and Gurbanov is sweating on the fitness of another winger, Dani Quintana. The Qarabag boss says the club's medical staff will make a decision on his fitness on Wednesday.
Chelsea have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League 13 times in their previous 14 appearances; 76% of sides that have been sat on seven points after their first four games in the Champions League since 2003/04 have progressed beyond the group stage.
Qarabag are yet to win a game this season in the Champions League; only on three previous occasions has a club progressed to the aast 16 since 2003/04 (current format) in 90 instances having failing to claim a win in the opening four matchdays.
Chelsea come into this game having lost a Champions League game by a margin of 3+ goals for only the third time in their history (3-0 on the road against Roma); 1-5 at Barcelona in April 2000 and 0-3 at Juventus in November 2012.
That defeat to Roma was only Chelsea's second loss in their last 17 group stage outings in the Champions League (W11 D4).
Qarabag have conceded three goals from corner situations this term in the Champions League (a joint-high with Feyenoord); only two sides have claimed more goals from corners than Chelsea this season (two).
Chelsea's last seven goals on the road in the Champions League have been converted by different players (Batshuayi, Morata, Mikel, Zouma, Oscar, Willian and Cahill).
Eden Hazard has created more goalscoring chances than any other player so far in the 2017/18 Champions League campaign (17).
Chelsea have responded well to their issue but, as we saw Antonio Conte linked with the Italy job, the feeling still does seem to be when he will go, not if.
Eden Hazard is gradually looking sharper and Cesc Fabregas was fantastic at the weekend. Conte will just want the job done and to save as much energy before a long journey back.
I could see him resting Alvaro Morata, giving the young lad Charly Musonda another game, but I do still see a strong side taking care of business.
Charlie predicts: 0-2 and Willian to score first (25/1 with Sky Bet)
Chelsea are Sky Bet's 1/3 favourites for the victory with Qarabag up against odds of 10/1 despite home advantage, while the draw is priced at 4/1. The Blues are, however, 22/1 shots to win the Champions League and second favourites to win Group C behind Roma. Alvaro Morata heads the first goalscorer betting at 11/4 with Eden Hazard enhanced from 7/1 to 8/1 to bag another brace.
