The Champions League is back and the two favourites to progress from Group G, Chelsea and Schalke 04, square off at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Chelsea began their league campaign with four wins out of four, soaring to the top of the Premier League table. Schalke started their season much differently, failing to win any of their opening 3 games yet earning an impressive draw against Bayern Munich. The form of both sides could play a massive role in the group opener, which may then set the stage for the rest of the group games.

Previous Meetings: 

Chelsea and Schalke are no strangers to one another, meeting just last year in the group stages. The match at Stamford Bridge ended 3-0, courtesy of goals from Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba. In the reverse fixture, Chelsea cruised to victory again, thanks to a similar scoreline. The two sides also met in similar circumstances in 2007, a Chelsea win and a draw being the outcomes.



Team News:

Chelsea: 

The Blues come into the game on fire, topping the Barclays Premier League while scoring 15 goals in the process. Didier Drogba may miss out on a return to the Champions League for Chelsea after that glorious night in Munich as he picked up an ankle injury in training last week and is unlikely to be risked. Apart from the Chelsea legend, the rest of the squad seems to be fully fit, with maybe a slight worry regarding Diego Costa's apparent hamstring problem but he seemed to have shook that off at the weekend. 

Schalke:

Schalke's injury woes are piling up week by week it seems, hampering their campaign in it's early stages. Jefferson Farfán, Joel Matip and Felipe Santana are among the most notable absentees. Also sidelined for the trip to London are Marcel Sobottka, Sead Kolašinac, Jan Kirchhoff, and Leon Goretzka. The Germans will have to make do without those ruled out and will call on the likes of Julian Draxler, Benedikt Höwedes and Klaas Jan Huntelaar for big performances. 

Key Points:

 • The impressive performances of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas must continue. The summer signings are been instrumental in Chelsea's early season success.

 • Schalke must find a way to keep Chelsea's danger men quiet while also trying to exploit the Blues' defence, which has leaked a handful of goals in recent weeks.

 • Currently 16th in the Bundesliga, Jens Keller's men must start strong on Wednesday night if they want to improve their current form. 

 • Mourinho's men reached the Semi-Final last year and everyone at the club wants to go two steps ahead by not only reaching the Final, but also to win it.

Best Finish:

Chelsea have reached the Champions League Final twice, winning it in 2012 against Bayern Munich. They have also reached the Semi Final stage FIVE times.

Schalke have not been as successful as the Blues in Europe, only managing to reach the Quarter Finals on one occasion, the 2007-08 campaign.


Prediction:

The form and overall talent of Chelsea may be just too much for a struggling Schalke. Mourinho's men should prevail as it is at home after all. Chelsea 3-0 Schalke.