Fresh off a hard-fought and morale-boosting win over Aston Villa this past weekend, Chelsea will now turn their attention to European action as they have to face off against one of Ukraine's top teams. Unlike the Blues, who have one win and suffered a loss to Porto, today's hosts have yet to lose in their two fixtures and will be hoping to pull off what would be an upset against the 2012 Champions League winners.
Dynamo Kyiv
Although not known to fans outside of Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv has long been viewed as one of that nation's premier sides. Alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, they have enjoyed a largely unchallenged dominance of their domestic league and up until recently, had strung together a 38-match unbeaten streak in the Ukrainian Premier League. Having suffered a crushing defeat to Shakhtar last Friday, Serhiy Rebrov's men will be determined to make amends in front of their home fans and will be largely feeling confident of their European performances, which saw them hold Portuguese powerhouse Porto to a 2-2 draw after falling behind twice.
This will be the first meeting between Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea, but overall, the Ukrainians have a solid home record, with seven wins, two draws, and just one loss in their past 10 fixtures. Overall, they have a decent record against English sides - at least at home - with five wins, five draws, and two defeats. Away is an entirely different story, so should Chelsea win today, the Ukrainians will find the odds stacked against them. They have never been able to defeat a Premier League side on English soil, and frankly their record is quite dismal, with just two draws out of their 12 games played.
However, as things stand, they are sitting on top of their quartet on goal difference, and will come into this game knowing that a win will propel them even closer towards securing a spot in the round of 16.
Chelsea
Simply put, nothing seems to be going right for Jose Mourinho's men this season. The Blues are still mired in the bottom half of the table and prior to welcoming Aston Villa, they had made their worst domestic start since the 1978/1979 season - in which they eventually ended up being relegated. Of course, this time around that is highly unlikely to occur, but their title defense already appears to be hanging by a thin thread of hope.
Meanwhile, in Europe, things started off well with a comfortable 4-0 win over Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, but their hard work was undone as they were unable to find a way past Mourinho's former side Porto. Should they win in Ukraine - a ground that they have yet to win. Chelsea's first and only trip to the Eastern European nation was back in 2012/2013 when they faced Shakhtar - and lost the away leg en route to eventually becoming the first reigning UCL winners to fail to get out of the group stage.
They will have to hope for a better result tonight, and it indeed will be quite interesting to see how Mourinho fields his starting XI. Stars like Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic were both left on the bench for the first half during the win over Aston Villa, but both nonetheless have been included in the traveling party.
Not making the trip will be no. 1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is still recovering from a knee injury and defender Branislav Ivanovic, who has been in poor form all season. As back-up for the Belgian star, the Blues recently signed former AC Milan goalkeeper Marco Amelia earlier this month on a contract that runs to the end of the season. Additionally, Pedro and Loic Remy are both suffering from minor injuries and will also remain in London. Finally, despite not being injured, Radamel Falcao continues to find life in England difficult as he was not even selected for today's game.
The pressure on Chelsea to return to London will be immense. A loss, coupled with a win for Porto, could effectively end their Champions League campaign; however a win, would definitely keep them in the running for a coveted spot in the first knock-out rounds.
Here is how Chelsea and their upcoming opponents compare ahead of Tuesday evening's clash. .png)
With Porto taking on bottom-feeders Maccabi Tel Aviv, this is a game that could surely shake things up in Group G as there are three serious contenders for a round of 16 berth. Of course, only two will be able to progress whilst someone will have to try their luck in the Europa League.
Will the Blues bounce back against Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev? Or will the hosts push them closer towards a possible early UCL exit?
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Team sheets for Dynamo vs Chelsea
Dynamo's XI: Shovkovskiy, Danilo Silva, Dragovic, Vida, Khacheridi, Sydorchuk, Rybalka, González, Buyalskiy, Yarmolenko, Kravets.
Chelsea's XI: Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry , Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Dynamo's subs: To follow.
Chelsea's subs: Blackman, Baba, Mikel, Oscar, Traore, Kenedy, Falcao.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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