Valencia vs Chelsea
Without a doubt, Group H has been the most competitive Champions League group this season. Three teams — Ajax, Chelsea, and Valencia — are locked on seven points and are vying for those top two spots for the knockout phase.
Valencia and Chelsea will now clash in a match which would see the winner basically book a ticket to the last 16.
Both sides will enter this match on the back of momentum-halting away defeats on the weekend. They will be eager to bounce back, especially with a place in the next round up for grabs.
The visitors are the slight favourites according to the Champions League 2019 betting odds and have had a strong record in Valencia over the years. But after suffering a shock home defeat to Los Che in their first meeting, Chelsea will know not to underestimate their foes.
Talking Points
Chelsea still playing with confidence
Chelsea’s impressive six-match Premier League winning streak finally came to an end with a 2-1 away defeat to Manchester City. Despite failing to hold onto an early lead, there was no shame in losing on the defending champions’ home turf.
Moreover, Frank Lampard can take pride in the fact that his side gave City a decent fight away from home. Chelsea actually had more possession than the hosts; they held City to just 46.7 per cent possession, the lowest ever for a Pep Guardiola-led top-flight side.
Chelsea now return to the Champions League, where they have actually been a much better side away from home. They’ve won both of their away matches against Lille and Ajax — albeit it was a marvelous comeback from 4-1 down — and haven’t won any of their two games at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have arguably been better away from home in general this season. Prior to their loss at City, they had won seven on the bounce on the road, which includes impressive Premier League wins against Wolves (2-5), Southampton (1-4), and Burnley (2-4).
Christian Pulisic, who made a speedy recovery from a hip injury to play against City, is in contention to start alongside Tammy Abraham and Willian/Pedro in the Chelsea attack.
Meanwhile, the returning N’Golo Kante — who scored on his return to the Chelsea side against City — will add some much-needed defensive steel to midfield.
Valencia formidable at home
Valencia’s resent resurgence came to a surprising halt after they suffered a 2-1 defeat away to struggling Real Betis over the weekend. After getting dominated for most of the match — they were outshot, 25-9 — a Sergio Canales strike in stoppage time ended Los Che’s three-match winning run.
During that run, Valencia picked up wins over Espanyol and Granada in the league. They also smashed Lille 4-1 in the Champions League, with three goals coming in the last eight minutes.
Maxi Gomez, who scored Valencia’s goal against Betis, has started each of the last three Champions League games and will be Los Che’s main goal threat. Gomez has had a strong debut season at Valencia, already scoring six goals in 13 La Liga appearances. However, he has yet to make any Champions League 2019 highlights, with no goals in his first four appearances.
Ever since their embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Ajax in the Champions League, Valencia have cleaned up their home form a fair bit. They’re undefeated in their last four at the Mestalla, with the lone match they were unable to win a hard-fought 1-1 draw against a Sevilla side currently in third in the La Liga table.
History
Chelsea and Valencia have squared off seven times in their history. Chelsea hold the edge with three wins, Valencia have won just once.
Chelsea have visited Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium three times and have not lost. They won on their first two visits in 2007 (both via 2-1 scorelines) and drew 1-1 in their group stage meeting back in 2011.
Betting Tip
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Valencia vs Chelsea | Valencia Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 1.79 |
| November 28, 01:55 (GMT+8) |
Despite being away from home, SBOBET odds still have Chelsea as slight favourites at 2.16 to get the crucial win in Spain. Valencia are priced at 3.25 to make home advantage count, while a draw is priced at 3.35.
It’s legitimately tough to see how this game will play out. While Chelsea have been going great guns away from home of late, Valencia are certainly no pushovers at the Mestalla.
But I’m going with Valencia on the Asian Handicap. As the underdog, a draw or win would see that bet win. And as they showed at Stamford Bridge, they are more than capable of pulling off that kind of result against the English giants.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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