Champions League football returns to Stamford Bridge once again and since their last outing, plenty has happened for Chelsea. With Thomas Tuchel gone, the players will be preparing to impress under new manager Graham Potter when they welcome RB Salzburg to London.
The Blues are the heavy favourites at 4/11 with Betway while RB Salzburg is 15/2 and a draw is 9/2 ahead of the Champions League tie. The Austrian side have never beaten an English side in a European competition in six attempts picking up just one draw in that time.
Since the opening group stage match, a lot has changed at Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel, the Champions League winning manager, was sacked after a string of poor results and Todd Boehly moved quickly to secure the services of Graham Potter from Brighton & Hove Albion. Potter also took his whole coaching team from the south coast club with him too including former players Bruno and Ben Roberts.
After postponements due to Queen Elizabeth II's passing, the former Ostersund's manager has had more time to put his footprint among his new players. Expectations are a lot higher at his new employers than they were at Brighton so the pressure will be on from the very start and it will be difficult to see the level of patience than what he had at his former club too.
RB Salzburg secured a draw against AC Milan at home and are top of the league picking up seven wins and just one defeat in the Austrian Bundesliga.
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Player to watch
There are plenty of players who are wanting to impress new boss Potter and who can fit in nicely into his style of play. One player that stands out for me is Raheem Sterling who could be set to play in one of the forward roles behind the striker.
The formation may well be the same but the style is very different to Tuchel's and while Sterling was one of the few positives in the German's last days as Chelsea boss, we could well see him thrive further under Potter's tutelage. He is 6/4 to score anytime.
H2H
This will be the first time the two sides will meet ahead of their Champions League clash. This will be the fifth meeting Chelsea will have against Austrian opposition with only a 25% win rate and is the first time they have met a side from the Austrian Bundesliga since meeting Austria Vienna in the 1994/95 Cup Winners' Cup.
For Salzburg, this will be the seventh meeting against English opposition and the fourth different club too. They have never picked up a win in their six meetings and only one draw after facing Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool.
READ MORE: Graham Potter handed big Chelsea injury blow ahead of opening match in charge vs FC Salzburg
READ MORE: Graham Potter has freedom Thomas Tuchel didn't with mastermind Billy Gilmour plan in £2m deal
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