Chelsea v Milan predictions: Under pressure Blues can secure vital victory

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea
2pts 7-10 general

Team news

Chelsea
N'Golo Kante (thigh) is not ready to return but Edouard Mendy (knee), Jorginho (knock), Marc Cucurella and Carney Chukwuemeka (both illness) have trained and may come into contention.

Milan
Davide Calabria (hamstring), Simon Kjaer and Alexis Saelemaekers (both muscle strains) have joined Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Florenzi, Divock Origi, Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez on the sidelines.

Match preview

Chelsea have taken just one point from two Champions League games but they can get their campaign back on track by defeating Group E leaders Milan at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues appointed Graham Potter as part of a long-term strategy, but there has been short-term improvement under the 47-year-old, who masterminded a 2-1 success at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Potter's team needed a superb 90th-minute Conor Gallagher goal to get the job done, but they produced an encouraging performance and were worthy winners, having won the shot count 13 to seven.

There is plenty of room for improvement and Potter's ongoing challenge is to find more penetration from his possession-heavy approach.

Potter's only natural centre-forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, should be feeling confident after scoring in his first Premier League appearance of the season, and the ex-Arsenal man's finishing skills could be key to overcoming Milan.

Chelsea have minimal room for error after disappointing results away to Dinamo Zagreb (0-1) and at home to FC Salzburg (1-1), but they are facing the Rossoneri at a good time.

Milan lost 2-1 at home to Napoli in their last game before the international break and needed injury-time goals from Fode Ballo-Toure and Rafael Leao to seal Saturday's 3-1 success at Empoli.

The weekend win kept Milan in fifth place in Serie A, three points adrift of leaders Napoli, but it came at a cost with winger Alexis Saelemaekers, centre-back Simon Kjaer and right-back Davide Calabria suffering injuries which rule them out of the trip to London.

Milan's treatment room was already heavily populated with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Divock Origi, Mike Maignan, Lucas Hernandez and Alessandro Florenzi all out of action.

And the large number of absentees will make it tough for the Italians to negotiate their hardest group-stage assignment.

Head coach Stefano Pioli will keep a close eye on the health of the rest of his squad and may choose to hold one or two back for Saturday's key domestic clash at home to Juventus.

Offensively, Milan's main threats are likely to come from Portuguese winger Leao, who has netted four goals in seven Serie A appearances this season, and centre-forward Olivier Giroud, who will be eager to impress against his former club.

However, they have not kept a clean sheet in the Champions League this season and their defence – weakened by the absences of first choice full-backs Calabria and Hernandez – could be exposed.

Chelsea are in the early stages of their journey under Potter and may not be ready to turn on the style.

However, they will be fully aware of the importance of the game and look decent value to secure a vital victory.

Key stat

Chelsea have won five of their last seven Champions League home games

Inside info

Chelsea

Penalty taker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Assist ace Raheem Sterling
Set-piece aerial threat Thiago Silva
Card magnet Mateo Kovacic

Milan

Penalty taker Olivier Giroud
Assist ace Rafael Leao
Set-piece aerial threat Olivier Giroud
Card magnet Sandro Tonali

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