Chelsea FC will be looking to earn three points at Stamford Bridge in their UEFA group stage campaign against newcomers Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC on 15th September 2015. Slavisa Jokanovic, Maccabi coach and Tal Ben Haim, Israeli defender will be facing their former club. The Champion’s League has made football betting business to be very lucrative.
Match Background
Chelsea
• The Premier League defending champions will be playing their 14th group stage match. Traditionally, they start well having won eight and drew thrice on match-day one prior 2013.
• Last season, the Blues drew 1-1 at home to FC Schalke 04 but proceeded to top their group. The Blues have topped their UEFA groups for nine times in their previous 12 campaigns.
• The Blues trounced NK Maribor (6-0) However, in their round of 16 the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against League 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain. The consequential (3-3) aggregate axed them out on away-goal rule. Their performance promoted betting on soccer.
Maccabi
• The Israeli double champions clinched their second place in the coveted Champions League group stage through a 1-1 draw at home with Basel after their earlier playoff had ended 2-2.
• Maccabi’s last campaign in this elite competition, in 2004/05 was disastrous. They were jinxed to share a group with three former champions FC Bayern München, AFC Ajax and Juventus.
• As expected, they finished in the bottom of the group.
• Maccabi’s only meetings with English opponents earned them two defeats. They faced Stoke City FC in the UEFA Europa League group stage of 2011/2012 and lost (0-3 away, 1-2 home).
Match Facts
Chelsea
• The reigning English Champions are yet to win at any home fixture this season. Their shocking 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace on 29 August 2015 was Mourinho’s second Premier League loss at Stamford Bridge in a whopping 100 games.
• Chelsea’s four-point tally after five league games is their worst start of a top-flight season from 1986.
• The 2014/2015 double winners have conceded 12 league goals in five matches this season. They did not ship that many during their last campaign until their 15th match.
• Eden Hazard scored in the Belgium’s 3-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Asmir Begovic was the goalkeeper. Hazard also scored in the Belgium’s 1-0 triumph in Cyprus and had highly promoted betting on football.
• Thibaut Courtois sustained a knee injury in training in September 2015, and Mourinho confirmed that the Belgium goalkeeper will be out for a long time.
Maccabi
• Eliazer Dasa is stands suspended having after being sent off in their UEFA Europa League qualifying round second leg against Charleroi on 16 July 2015.
• Maccabi is unbeaten in seven games in the domestic league as well as in Europe since their 2-1 home loss to Viktoria Plzen. That was during their second leg of qualifying round match.
• Zahavi has scored seven goals in Maccabi’s ten domestic and European matches this season, and he has overall 12 goals.
• He also scored in Israel’s 4-0 win over Andorra during the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier in September.