Chelsea will take on Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Blues have had a roller coaster of a season under Coach Jose Mourinho and are coming off a 3-2 loss against Stoke City this weekend. The team has clinched a spot in the next round of the tournament but needs a huge win to finish as the group leader and avoid the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the next round.
However, the game is not going to be easy. Chelsea is coming off a loss against Basel and has looked susceptible in what was expected to be an "easy" group.
"[Steaua have] got three draws. They didn't lose against Schalke once and against Basel twice - and they are going to try to do the same tomorrow," said Mourinho according to UEFA. "We have to win, not just to finish first but to have the good feeling to win at home and finish with 12 points. If you told me now that tomorrow we finish first with one point because of the other result I don't want it. I want to have the feeling of winning the game tomorrow. Difficult, but I think we can."
Bucharest only has three points and has no hopes of qualifying for the Europa League. However, the team knows that a win will go a long way toward rebuilding its confidence.
"We know it will be very difficult because Chelsea want to finish top of the group and they know they have to win to do that. But I just hope we give them a good game," said Bucharest coach Laurenţiu Reghecamp. "First we want to play a good game here and not repeat the mistakes we made in the first leg. I think for all of us, my team and Romanian football, it is very important to have a positive game and a positive result."
Prediction: Chelsea wins 3-0.
Start Time: 2:45 p.m. EST
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
