CHELSEA:
Maurizio Sarri would have been quite happy with the change of fortune that has led to Chelsea back in the form. After a 6-0 thumping by Manchester City and quite a few FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, Chelsea almost lost hope but an improved performance against Tottenham and Fulham, the Blues’ are definitely boasted. Their rivals Manchester United and Arsenal are still ruling the charts and to challenge them is to quote defeat. As of now, Chelsea is turning their heads back on Europe’s secondary club competition, as they have easily topped the Group L after they dismantled Swedish outfit Malmo 5-1 on aggregate.
With the coming face-off, Sarri is expected to play shuffles with the line-up especially with Kepa and Willy and this time around Sarri might go with Willy Caballero following an improved performance after his return to the bank of Thames. Academy products Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi are also pushing for inclusion, which would give the likes of N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard a welcome breather.
Probable Line-ups: Caballero; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Christensen, Alonso; Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kovacic; Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Willian.
Recent Form: WLWLWW
DYNAMO KIEV:
Dynamo, after topping Group K and beating the likes of Rennes, Astana, and Jablonec, are all set to face a notch higher competitor in the skin of Chelsea. The Ukrainian champions have been quite impressive, a 2-2 away draw to Olympiacos and later a 1-0 home win in the reverse fixture. Alyaksandr Khatskevich’s side has been winless in their 14 attempts on English soil but they did manage to draw 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium on their most recent visit in March 2016. They currently sit second in the Ukrainian Premier League after 20 matches, seven points adrift of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Dynamo’s top scorer Benjamin Verbic is suspended and it will be either Sidcley or Heorhiy Tsitaishvili to fill his place on the left wing. They are also without Spanish striker Fan Sol who will be off-duty following surgery due to a shoulder injury.
Probable Line-ups: Boyko; Kedziora, Burda, Shabanov, Mykolenko; Shepelev, Buyalskiy; Tysgankov, Shaparenko, Sidcley; Sol
Recent Form: DWDWWW
PLAYERZPOT PLAYING XI:
PLAYERZPOT PREDICTION:
Dynamo has proved that they can be dominant but Europa League is where they don’t stand a long run. Chelsea is fan favorites and they will definitely strive to boost their morale.
PLAYERZPOT PREDICTION:
CHELSEA 2-0 DYNAMO KIEV
