José Mourinho, the most successful manager in Chelsea history, returns to Stamford Bridge looking to guide his Benfica side to victory as these two teams look to break their duck on matchday two of the UEFA Champions League (UCL).
Match News and Current Form
After a promising start to the campaign, Chelsea have endured a disastrous couple of weeks, with their only win across their last five games coming against third-tier Lincoln (D1, L3). The Blues have had a player sent off in back-to-back Premier League losses, prompting boss Enzo Maresca to blast his side for “giving away presents” to their opponents. Bayern Munich were good enough to beat them 3-1 on matchday one of the UCL without a numerical advantage, leaving the Blues on a club-record three-match losing streak in this competition.
A Premier League winner three times in the Chelsea dugout, Mourinho returns to the Bridge having made an unbeaten start to life as Benfica manager (W2, D1). His predecessor Bruno Lage was only sacked after overseeing a 3-2 defeat to Qarabağ on matchday one, with that result marking the second time this calendar year that the Eagles have given up a two-goal lead to lose a UCL match. Both instances came at home, and Benfica have been strong UCL travellers, winning five of their last seven road games in the competition (L2).
Head-to-Head History
Chelsea have won all four prior H2Hs, all of which came in knockout football. Benfica were beaten 4-1 by the Blues in the last 16 of the Club World Cup this summer, stretching their winless run against English opponents to eight matches (D3, L5).
Win ProbabilityOpta by StatsPerform
Hot Stats and Streaks
Chelsea have failed to score in just one of their last 18 games.
Chelsea’s last three UCL defeats have come by a two-goal margin.
Benfica’s last nine matches have produced five red cards.
Mourinho is winless in his last seven managerial H2Hs against Chelsea (D3, L4).
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández looks set to be in the thick of the action against his former side having directly contributed to four goals across his last seven matches (G3, A1) as well as picking up two yellow cards. Georgiy Sudakov has opened the scoring in two of Benfica’s last three matches, and another strike from him would certainly bode well as he’s unbeaten in 17 scoring appearances at club level (W15, D2).
