It took two months, but Thomas Tuchel has finally suffered defeat as manager of Chelsea. Now we’ll see how he and his squad respond. On the weekend, the Blues looked like anything but Champions League darkhorses, as they throttled by relegation fodder West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
However, there are some who really believe the Blues have an outside, but solid shot of winning the European championship. The quest resumes with a visit to FC Porto in the quarterfinals.
Chelsea at FC Porto UCL Quarterfinal Leg 1/2 FYIs
Kickoff: Wed April 7, 8pm, Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan
Team news for both sides: go here
Odds: Chelsea win -140 Draw +250 FC Porto Win +430
Head to Head: Chelsea win 5 Draw 2 FC Porto Win 1
Fast Fact: Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 8 matches in the Champions League
In terms of who could receive a first team assignment from Tuchel, we’re predicting that both expensive German flops, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner get the call here. Another player with a lot of prove, who should be in the first team again here, is central defender Thiago Silva.
He came back from a long injury layoff on the weekend only to get sent off in the 29′.
He did himself and his team badly, and he’ll be extremely motivated to come correct and find redemption here.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction (3-4-2-1) at FC Porto: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Reece James, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
