Chelsea vs Valencia: Preview, Kick-off time, TV channel, Prediction

Chelsea is back into the Champions league circuit after a hiatus of one season. They eventually kick-start their Champions League campaign with a home tie against Spanish side Valencia

Chelsea vs Valencia
UEFA Champions League Group stage 2019/20
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off time: September 18th, 2019 (12:30 am IST)
Telecast: SPN Sports

The 41-year old, Frank Lampard makes his managerial debut in Europe’s top tier club competition having  already won it back in 2012 as a player with Chelsea football club.

Scenario at Chelsea

I guess it’ll be the first instance in a long time that a Chelsea team step into UCL campaign without having any hopes placed on them. Certainly, many pundits won’t fancy Chelsea to go the distance. 

Chelsea have produced some mixed performances in the current Premier League season until now. While Frank Lampard’s attacking brand of play has galvanized the Chelsea attack, the defence has a long way to go .

 Lampard’s Chelsea is up and running after an impressive win against Wolves at Molineux, with Tammy Abraham scoring a hat-trick making it seven goals in five games

Scenario at Valencia

Valencia is undergoing a big management turmoil. It all started with the sacking of Marcelino, Valencia’s most successful manager. After sacking, the club management replaced him with Albert Celades to assign his first senior management role.

Valencia’s performances haven’t been great since the start of the season, considering the talent it's squad possesses.

Team news

Frank Lampard has confirmed Antonio Rudiger’s absence. N'golo Kante and Hudson-Odoi are still not match fir. So, there are chances at least any two of these three players could at least start on the bench. Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham should all make their Champions League debuts. 
 

Valencia will be without Carlos Soler and Cristiano Piccini, who are both unavailable due to long-term injuries. Kevin Gameiro and Goncalo Guedes will be the main attacking threats while Former Arsenal players Gabriel and Francis Coquelin could feature against Chelsea on their return to London.

Prediction

Chelsea 3-2 Valencia
We could see some goals in this fixture as both the teams have shown some vulnerabilities in their defensive line. It surely promises to be an exciting fixture but the Blues would just clinch it by finest of margins.