Having long clinched their status as the winners of UEFA Europa League Group L, Chelsea FC head to the Hungarian capital city of Budapest for their group stage finale tomorrow night at MOL Vidi FC. Unless Chelsea are hell bent on achieving a perfect Euro campaign of all wins, no losses and no draws, this match is utterly meaningless.
How much motivation and desire the Blues will have it for it remains to be seen, but we do know that manager Maurizio Sarri will surely do some squad rotation here. With the fixture congestion of the festive period to consider, Sarri will rest most of his regulars.
That means a potentially final game in a blue shirt for team captain Gary Cahill (See this match does have a lot of meaning).
Being given the green light to leave in the January transfer window, Cahill will pursue a destination that offers him regular first team action. Ethan Ampadu, who has hardly played at this season due to injury and recovery, could be in the first XI as well.
And while Sarri has said that Callum Hudson-Odoi is not at Premier League level yet, this kind of match should be perfect for him. He earned his first ever Sarriball start in the lopsided win over PAOK last time out and greatly seized upon the opportunity by notching a goal and an assist.
The Bank Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction (4-3-3) vs Vidi
Attack: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Alvaro Morata, Pedro
Midfield: Mateo Kovacic, Cesc Fabregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Defense: Davide Zappacosta, Ethan Ampadu, Gary Cahill, Emerson Palmieri
Goalkeeper: Willy Caballero
Vidi currently sit third in the group standings, but level on points with BATE Borisov, so you know they will absolutely be bringing it here, in hopes of making it through to the knockout round. Chelsea come in brimming with confidence, having just given juggernaut Manchester City their first domestic loss of the campaign.
Chelsea FC vs MOL Vidi FC FYIs
Injury Report: go to this link
Kick-off: 555pm (BST), Thursday December 13th, Groupama Arena, Budapest
Odds via Betfair: Chelsea FC 4/6, Draw 14/5, MOL Vidi FC 9/2
Odds Checker Chelsea odds to win UEL Tournament: 5/1 (most favorable of any team in the field)
Prediction: Chelsea FC 2, MOL Vidi FC 0
Feel free to post your own 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 Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.