5 Reasons Why Chelsea Will Beat Sporting Lisbon

After the 2-1 loss to Newcastle in the weekend, the media-instigated unbeaten run jingle have been well put to rest and Chelsea will return to action against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in what will be the last group game for the campaign this season.

Chelsea was 1-0 winner over the same opposition in the reverse fixture at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal courtesy of a Nemanja Matic first half header.

The Blues are already through to the knock-out stage of the competition and will also emerge as group winners irrespective of the outcome of this game hence; the match could easily be termed as not-too important for the club.

Sporting on the other hand need to take at least a points from this game in order to be guaranteed a spot as the group’s runner up irrespective of Maribor vs Schalke04 outcome.

As much as Sporting is the one who has everything to play for in this game, it is the Blues I tip to come out with all three points in this encounter hence, we look at Five reasons why Chelsea will get the double over Sporting Lisbon in this Champions League game.

Young Talents Will Want To Produce Result:

As expected, Mourinho will be resting a number of his key players thus, giving some of the young players a chance to show themselves.

The likes of Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek could all start the game and there is no doubt this young lads will want to impress the manager and much more the crowd of supporters with a good performance.

The hunger in these young players could be what Chelsea needs to out stage Sporting come Wednesday night.

Rebuilding Team Confidence:

After the Newcastle loss, Chelsea will need to get their confidence up again and this is the game to do that.

The 2-1 loss was almost like a setback for the club in its campaign as it marked the first time Chelsea will be losing a competitive match in all competition this season. Mourinho will seek to get his boys confidence on the high again by winning this game as a consecutive loss will do his team no good. Expect Chelsea to be all out to win this one.

No Pressure:

Teams perform better when they are not under any undue pressure and that is the case with Chelsea. Chelsea is under no pressure whatsoever to win this game hence, will be out to enjoy themselves in the game.

Sporting are the one under pressure here and this could be to their own detriment as they will be approaching the game with caution hence, will not be able to play at their full potential. Chelsea could capitalise on this and punish the Marco Silva side.

Costa:

Diego Costa will likely start the game tomorrow, according to Jose Mourinho during his press conference. The Brazilian born Spanish international has not registered a single goal in the Champions league this season.

This could be his chance to get himself on the score sheet in a Champions league game for Chelsea after being one of the top goal scorers in the competition last season while at Atletico Madrid.

The 26-year-old will fancy his chances in front of goal when he meets Sporting. Expect the prolific striker to get a goal or two in this game if given the chance and that could spell doom for Sporting.

Fringe Players:

Jose Mourinho is likely to give some of the fringe players like Andre Schurrle, Mohammed Salah, John Obi Mikel and Ramires a chance to prove themselves again in this game.

This players know that this would be the best chance to convince the manager they deserve a place in the team hence, will up their game tonight. They will not want to end up on the losing side so as not to irk the Portuguese manager.

Mourinho have been critical of Schurrle and Salah’s performances in some games this season and both players will be eager to take the game to Sporting and redeem their already dwindling image before the manager. If these players up their game tonight against Sporting, Chelsea will be sure to take the three points.

Written by Kc Emmanuels