Chelsea will travel to Austria this Tuesday to face Austrian Bundesliga giants RB Salzburg in the fifth round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage game.
Venue: Red Bull Arena (Salzburg)
Key Statistics
RB Salzburg are unbeaten in their last 17 competitive games (W11, D6).
Salzburg are unbeaten in seven straight UCL home games (W4, D3).
They have drawn four of their last five home games (W1)
Red Bull Salzburg have scored 2+ goals in nine of their last 13 matches this season
They have kept seven clean sheets in their past 13 matches this season
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight games (W5, D3).
They have kept six clean sheets in their last eight games.
The Blues are unbeaten in 28 of the last 34 European games (W21, D7).
Head to head
Nothing could separate both sides in their first head-to-head meeting (1-1).
Latest performances in all competitions
Salzburg: D-W-W-D-W
Chelsea: D-D-W-W-W
RB Salzburg
RB Salzburg will look to continue their impressive run in all competitions when they host Chelsea on Tuesday.
The hosts have dominated the Austrian Bundesliga this season, where they sit in first place in the league standings.
Mattias Jassaile’s side have picked up 30 points in 13 appearances in the League, but come into this game off the back of a 0-0 draw to second-placed Sturm Graz.
The draw opened up an 18 points gap between Salzburg and their nearest competitors, and with the league almost certainly wrapped up, Jassaile and his team will turn their sights on the Champions League as they look to upstage Chelsea and take the top spot in Group E.
RB Salzburg are in contention of making it into the round of 16 for two seasons in a row, after being eliminated in the same round by Bayern Munich last season.
Jassaile will be keen to see his side take all three points from Chelsea, as this clash sets in motion a string of matches that will determine who goes into the knockout rounds as group champion.
Salzburg are currently on a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions, including their 1-1 draw with the Blues in the first leg in London. Die Roten Bullen will therefore fancy their chances of getting a win against Graham Potter’s side.
Possible Salzburg starting line-up
Philipp Koehn; Amar Dedic, Kamil Piatkowski, Oumar Solet, Maximilian Wober; Lucas Gourna-Douath, Nicolas Seiwald, Maurits Kjaergaard; Noah Okafor, Benjamin Sesko, Chukwuebuka Adamu.
Injured: Sekou Koita, Nicolas Capaldo, Fernando, Samson Tijani
Doubtful: Andreas Ulmer, Dijon Kamari
Suspended: None
Chelsea
The Blues saw their run of a five-game winning streak in all competitions come to a grinding halt with back-to-back draws.
Graham Potter’s side recorded their second draw in a row inside one week, when they were held at home by Manchester United last weekend, following their 0-0 draw with Brentford last Wednesday.
Jorginho opened the scoring from the Penalty spot for the Blues and they looked set to take all three points from their rivals, but a stoppage-time header from Casemiro restored parity for Manchester United.
However, Chelsea secured home and away victories over AC Milan in their last two games in the Champions League, to sit on top of Group E, and are undefeated in their last three games in the competition.
The Blues will be keen to pick up all three points when they lock horns with the Austrians, to decide who takes the top spot in Group E, with only one point separating both teams.
Their last encounter with Mattias Jassaile’s side ended in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, with Noah Okafor cancelling out Raheem Sterling’s goal. Graham Potter will take his side to Austria, hoping to solidify their position at the top. But it is yet to be seen if their recent results in the Premier League will have an adverse effect on their Champions League run.
Possible Chelsea starting line-up
Kepa Arrizabalaga; César Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Injured: Ngolo Kante, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly
Doubtful: Conor Gallagher
Suspended: None
Prediction
Salzburg 1-1 Chelsea
