Chelsea vs Sevilla Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Chelsea host Sevilla on Tuesday in what will be the first night of group stage fixtures in the 2020/21 Champions League.
The Blues reached the last 16 stage in the previous campaign, but were eliminated following a 7-1 aggregate thrashing by eventual winners Bayern Munich. Their form so far this term has been iffy, recently drawing 3-3 at home with Southampton.
As for Sevilla, Julen Lopetegui's side were crowned champions of the Europa League last season, following a 3-2 win in the final over Inter. They most recently lost at the weekend, being beaten 1-0 by Granada.
Where to Watch on TV
When Is Kick Off? Tuesday 20 October
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (BST)
Where Is it Played? Stamford Bridge
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? Davide Massa
Team News
New arrival Edouard Mendy has been ruled out after suffering a thigh injury on international duty with Senegal. The goalkeeper's absence will hand Kepa Arrizabalaga another start between the sticks.
Hakim Ziyech made an appearance from the substitutes bench at the weekend following his return from injury. The Moroccan is expected to be involved, along with Thiago Silva, who was rested against Southampton. Reece James is also likely to return to the starting lineup.
Sevilla centre back Jules Kounde is unavailable after recently testing positive for Covid-19. Aside from that, Lopetegui has strong options at his disposal. Luuk de Jong and Lucas Ocampos should both return to the starting lineup, while summer signing Karim Rekik could make his debut at centre back in place of Kounde.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea: Kepa; James, Silva, Zouma, Chilwell; Kovacic, Jorginho; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic; Werner.
Sevilla: Bounou; Navas, Rekik, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Suso, De Jong, Ocampos.
Recent Form
While there have been some glowing signs of Chelsea's summer signings clicking into gear, such as Timo Werner's brace at the weekend, poor defending is what has let the Blues down.
Chelsea currently sit seventh in the Premier League, with eight points after the opening five games. The campaign started with a 3-1 win away to Brighton, before a 2-0 defeat at home to last season's champions Liverpool.
A dramatic comeback saw Lampard's side overturn a three-goal deficit to eventually draw 3-3 with West Brom, followed by a convincing 4-0 thumping of Crystal Palace before the international break. In their most recent outing, Chelsea's defensive frailties were on show as Southampton snatched a point in a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge.
As for Sevilla, their start to La Liga has left them in tenth position after four games, with seven points on the board. Ivan Rakitic marked his return with a goal as Sevilla beat Cadiz 3-1 on the opening day. A narrow 1-0 win over Levante saw Lopetegui's side claim their second win of the season, followed by a 1-1 draw away to Barcelona.
In their most recent fixture, however, Sevilla lost 1-0 to Granada, with midfielder Joan Jordan sent off at the end of the first half after picking up two yellow cards.
Chelsea
Chelsea 3-3 Southampton (17/10)
Chelsea 4-0 Crystal Palace (3/10)
Tottenham [won on pens] 1-1 Chelsea (29/9)
West Brom 3-3 Chelsea (26/9)
Chelsea 6-0 Barnsley (23/9)
Sevilla
Granada 1-0 Sevilla (17/10)
Barcelona 1-1 Sevilla (4/10)
Sevilla 1-0 Levante (1/10)
Cadiz 1-3 Sevilla (27/9)
Bayern Munich 2-1 Sevilla (24/9)
Prediction
As good as Chelsea have been at times going forward, they won't get anywhere with cracks in their defence.
Werner's confidence will be sky-high following an impressive performance against Southampton at the weekend, but Sevilla will likely be given chances through defensive errors. This has potential to be quite an entertaining game, and could be a high-scoring draw.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Sevilla