Salzburg vs Chelsea: Blues aim to potentially secure knockout UCL spot

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Chelsea, Salzburg, UEFA Champions League

After picking up two crucial back to back wins against AC Milan, Chelsea will look to try to consolidate their grip on top spot in Group E when they face Salzburg on Tuesday.

Despite a strong start, Salzburg now find themselves at second in the table due to a failure to successfully pick up victories. That being said, the Austrian side, who were not given much of a chance at qualifying from their quartet, will come into their upcoming match against current quartet leaders Chelsea on a 16 match unbeaten streak across all comps. However, they have won only two of their last nine Champions League matches, and have endured their fair share of frustrations when it comes to facing English sides in Europe.

Meanwhile, at the start of this year's Champions League, Chelsea were looking at the rather uncomfortable possibility of an early exit. The Blues opened proceedings with a shock loss to minnows Dinamo Zagreb, before barely scraping a point during a frustrating draw with Red Bull Salzburg. However, flash-forward a month later, and Chelsea are now on top of their quartet, thanks to a pair of stunning wins over then-group leaders AC Milan. Having won both home and away against the Rossoneri with an aggregate score of 5-0, the Blues, who are now under the tutelage of Graham Potter, will certainly be fancying their chances at consolidating their grip on top spot and taking a big step towards the round of 16 with a win on Tuesday evening.

Despite dropping two points in a one-all draw against Manchester United last weekend, Potter has overseen a side that have gone eight games sans defeat across all comps since his arrival in September following Thomas Tuchel's sacking. Chelsea also will be encouraged by the fact that although Salzburg have been in excellent form, their upcoming Austrian hosts have never beaten an English team in seven prior attempts.

Still, Salzburg's solid home form is not something to be ignored, as Matthias Jaissle's team have not lost at the Red Bull Arena in European competition in nearly two years, or since December 2020. Some of Europe's biggest sides, including Bayern Munich (as well as others like Lille, Milan, and Sevilla) have all come to this same ground and were unable to leave with a win, so Chelsea will definitely have that in mind as they aim to potentially seal their spot in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

Team news: Salzburg vs Chelsea

Salzburg: Injuries have been piling up for the hosts, who will need to make do without Justin Omoregie, Fernando, Ousmane Diakite, Nicolas Capaldo, and Sekou Koita due to injuries.. Meanwhile, Dijon Kameri, Luka Sucic, Andreas Ulmer, and Oumar Solet are all doubts due to varying degrees.

Chelsea: Meanwhile, the visitors have been dealt a big blow in defense with new signing Kalidou Koulibaly expected to miss this match due to a knee injury. In addition, N'Golo Kante's unfortunate struggles with injury continue to plague the French star as he is expected to miss the next few months following hamstring surgery, while both Reece James and Wesley Fofana remain out as they recover from their respective knee injuries. Finally, Mateo Kovacic is expected to make the squad, but as he is recovering from a knee issue, it is not likely that the Croatian midfielder will start.

Match facts: Salzburg vs Chelsea

RB Salzburg are winless in all seven of their European games against English teams (D2 L5)
That being said, they are unbeaten in their last seven European home games (W5 D2)
This will only be the second game featuring Salzburg and Chelsea