Chelsea FC head into their penultimate UEFA Europa League group stage match having already booked their passage to the knockout round. With just one more point, either tomorrow night at home versus PAOK Salonika or in the finale, they’ll top the group. The visiting side comes in needing points in Europe, but very dominant domestically.
They have taken 29/33 points possible in the Greek top flight, with a +15 goal differential. That said, we should still expect to see most of the Chelsea first teamers rested in this one. For Maurizio Sarri, this match is squad rotation time, especially as the festive period, and the fixture congestion that accompanies it, looming soon.
This match provides a good opportunity for players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the team skipper Dan Cahill to go the full 90.
The Bank Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction (4-3-3)
Attack: Willian, Olivier Giroud, Pedro
Midfield: Mateo Kovacic, Cesc Fabregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Defense: Davide Zappacosta, Andreas Christensen, Gary Cahill, Emerson Palmieri
Goalkeeper: Willy Caballero
Chelsea FC vs PAOK Salonika FYIs
Injury Report: go to this link
Kick-off: 8pm (BST), Thursday Nov 29
Odds via Odds checker: Chelsea FC 1/3, Draw 49/10, PAOK Salonika 10/1
Prediction: Chelsea FC 2, PAOK Salonika 0
Feel free to post your own Chelsea and/or PAOK Salonika starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be. Enjoy the match everybody!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.