After experiencing a massive humiliation against Manchester City, Chelsea has to find a way to forget that nightmare at Etihad and focus on the upcoming challenges. The Blues are favorites against Malmo, and they have to justify that this Thursday. Winning here is especially important for their manager Maurizio Sarri whose role is not safe anymore. The home team secretly hopes to use these difficulties in their advantage, and deliver another devastating blow to the London club.
Malmo is coming into this match with a few friendlies behind them, as their national championship ended in November. They were second in Group I, reaching that place after defeating Besiktas in Istanbul, in a direct clash for the next stage. Chelsea won Group L without a single loss, but we need to add that the opponents in that assembly were far away from the Blues, BATE, MOL Vidi and PAOK.
Unlike Bate Borisov who had only one friendly before facing Arsenal, the Swedish club had four of them. They recorded one win and lost apiece with two draws. Against more serious opponents such as Dynamo Kyiv 0:0, and Krasnodar 0:2, they couldn’t score. As you see both games ended with under 2.5 goals, and that was the situation in all but one contest during the group stage. Malmo is a strong team, very demanding in terms of physical preparation.
The catastrophe at Etihad affected Blues’ morale no doubt about it. What are the consequences, we still don’t know. Sarri is under huge pressure, and Real Madrid is still eyeing Eden Hazard, who is not looking very happy at the moment. All this could damage already shaken chemistry in Chelsea’s locker room. Blues have four straight defeat away from home, in which they haven’t scored a single goal. Meanwhile, they allowed 13, and that is one of the worst stretches they had in the last few seasons. Previous four events they played all finished with over 2.5 goals.
Both Guillermo Molins and Oscar Lewicki who were listed doubtful for this clash should be available to play. Danny Drinkwater is out for Chelsea, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Gary Cahill might be in the combination. What encourages Blues fans is the fact that Gonzalo Higuain has the right to play after UEFA made some changes in their transfer policy this summer.
The teams never met before in any competitive matches.
Chelsea’s odds for a win are very humble having in mind the current state of their team and the form away from Stamford Bridge, 1.30. A draw is set at 5.25, while the home team’s victory is 9.50 with a tendency to go up.
We are not quite sure which lineup is going to step on the pitch of Swedbank Stadium, but either way, Chelsea is stronger than Malmo. There is one more thing why we back up the team from England. Blues are in the middle of the championship, and their form is at a much higher level than the rivals’ is. So, bet on Chelsea’s win, even though the odds are not that great. About the efficiency, below three goals is the best possible thing here, since Malme has that defensive-oriented style of play, and on the other hand, Chelsa isn’t going to overload too much since they have the finals of the English Football League Cup this Sunday. Their opponent will be Manchester City, and that means that the whole focus is on that game. This is the main reason why we recommend betting on goals before the final outcome. Final word, Malmo – Chelsea, 0:2