Valencia v Chelsea: Champions League betting preview, free tip & where to watch

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Valencia v Chelsea in the Champions League.

Where to watch

BT Sport 3, 5.55pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea
2pts 11-10 general

Team news

Valencia
Carlos Soler (ankle) is back in contention but Ezequiel Garay (muscle injury), Goncalo Guedes (ankle), Denis Cheryshev, Ruben Sobrino (both thigh), Cristiano Piccini (knee), Geoffrey Kondogbia, Francis Coquelin (both hamstring) and Mouctar Diakhaby (calf) were absent at the weekend.

Chelsea
Ross Barkley (ankle) is a doubt and Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring), Antonio Rudiger (groin) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles) are out.

Match preview

Chelsea started off their Champions League campaign with a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Valencia but they responded impressively, taking seven points from three games, and can clinch a last-16 berth by defeating the Spaniards at the Mestalla.

The qualification picture in Group H is tight with Ajax, Chelsea and Valencia all on seven points and winless Lille out of the running.

But Valencia approach the crucial game against Chelsea in the midst of an injury crisis which could deny them the services of eight senior players.

A patched up Valencia side lost 2-1 away to La Liga strugglers Betis on Saturday – leaving them tenth in La Liga – and head coach Albert Celades will need a lot more from his players if they are to achieve a second victory over the Blues.

Valencia will probably see less value in drawing the game because their final fixture away to Ajax is a lot tougher than Chelsea's who play Lille at Stamford Bridge.

But if they open up and attack Chelsea, they risk leaving themselves exposed against one of the Premier League's best counter-attacking sides.

Chelsea's first-choice front three – Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Willian – features bags of pace and movement, making the Blues a dangerous side on their travels.

Frank Lampard's men are the leading away scorers in the Premier League with 19 goals in seven games and six of their seven Champions League points have been accrued through successes on the road over Ajax (1-0) and Lille (2-1).

Saturday's 2-1 loss at Manchester City has probably killed off any fleeting title hopes but it was another encouraging performance from the Blues, who demonstrated a massive improvement in comparison to last season's 6-0 loss at the Etihad.

Lampard's young side are learning all the time and are likely to be a different proposition to the team which Valencia vanquished at the Bridge in September.

While Chelsea have progressed considerably since matchday one, Valencia will probably struggle to match the standards of their performance in London.

Of the team who started that evening, four players (defender Ezequiel Garay, midfielders Geoffrey Kondogbia and Francis Coquelin and winger Denis Cheryshev) are carrying injuries and were absent at the weekend.

Even at full-strength Valencia would probably have found their second meeting against Chelsea to be tougher than the first.

Instead, they are likely to be severely hampered by absentees and Chelsea have the tools to take advantage.