Chelsea resume their Champions League campaign on Wednesday, when they host Ajax at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca's side followed their Premier League win over Liverpool with a 3-0 hammering of Nottingham Forest, a result that saw Ange Postecoglou sacked.
Facing an Ajax side who have only won one of their last six games in all competitions, Chelsea could account the sacking of another manager in Johnny Heitinga, who will be under plenty of pressure to get his side back on track.
The former European champions are second-from bottom in the Champions League league phase following a 4-0 loss to Marseille and a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan. A draw against Sparta Rotterdam and a further loss over the weekend to AZ Alkmaar has left them nine points adrift of Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord, with pressure mounting on Heitinga.
Chelsea's inconsistent season has followed them to the Champions League, as they bounced back from their opening round loss to Bayern with a 1-0 win over Jose Mourinho's Benfica to climb to 18th in the table. Two consecutive wins in the Premier League since then has improved the mood around Stamford Bridge.
However, a lengthy injury list that only seems to be growing coupled with disciplinary issues have given Maresca quite the selection headache. Striker João Pedro is suspended for this game, and with Enzo Fernández also a doubt, it could afford peripheral squad players like Marc Guiu and Facundo Buonanotte a chance.
Heitinga rejigged his backline to accomodate for left-back Owen Wijndal's injury, but with his usual starters out of form, he could be tempted to rotate. The two teams have only faced each other twice, with Chelsea winning 1-0 in Amsterdam, while the return fixture saw a Champions League classic when Frank Lampard's Chelsea came from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 against a nine-man Ajax team managed by Erik ten Hag.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on TNT Sports in the U.K., Paramount+ in the United States, Stan Sport in Australia, and SonyLIV in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET; 12.30 a.m. IST, Thursday and 5 a.m. AEDT, Thursday).
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
VAR: Sören Storks (Germany)
Team news:
Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez, M: knee, DOUBT
João Pedro, F: OUT, Suspended
Benoît Badiashile, D: knock, OUT, est. return early-Dec
Cole Palmer, F: groin, OUT, est. return late-Nov
Dário Essugo, M: thigh, OUT, est. return late-Dec
Liam Delap, F: hamstring, OUT, est. return mid-Nov
Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT, est. late-Apr
Ajax
Owen Wijndal. D: knock, OUT, est. return late-Oct
Branco van den Boomen, M: back, DOUBT
Kasper Dolberg, F: stomach, est. return late-Oct
Expected Lineups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1)
GK: Robert Sánchez
RB: Malo Gusto | CB: Trevoh Chalobah | CB: Tosin Adarabioyo | LB: Marc Cucurella
CM: Romeo Lavia | CM: Moises Caicedo
RW: Estêvão | CAM: Facundo Buoananotte | LW: Pedro Neto
CF: Marc Guiu
Ajax (4-2-3-1)
GK: Vitezslav Jaros
RB: Anton Gaaei | CB: Josip Sutalo | CB: Youri Baas | LB: Lucas Rosa
CM: Kenneth Taylor | CM: Davy Klaassen
RW: Mika Godts | CAM: Oscar Gloukh | LW: Raúl Moro
CF: Wout Weghorst
Stats:
Ajax have not won any of their last eleven games against English opposition (0-2-9 W-D-L). Their last win came over Spurs in the first leg of the infamous 2018/19 UCL semifinal, which they went on to lose in dramatic fashion in the second leg.
Ajax have not scored in any of their last five games against Premier League opponents, having conceded 11 goals in those games.
Chelsea have yet to lose against Dutch opposition in the UEFA Champions League (3-1-0 W-D-L).
This will be Chelsea's 200th game in the UEFA Champions League proper, while it will be Ajax's 250th game in the European Cup / UCL.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 15 UCL group stage / league phase games at home (11-4-0 W-D-L), having lost only two of their last 60 such games.
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