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Attendance: 39,132
Chelsea logo
Champions League | Group Stage
Nov 5, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Ajax

4-4

Jorginho (5' pen., 71' pen.), Azpilicueta (63'), James (74')
FT(HT: 1-3)
Abraham (2' og.), Promes (20'), Arrizabalaga (35' og.), van de Beek (55')

Preview: Chelsea vs. Ajax - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole provides team news, predicted lineups and a full preview of Tuesday's Champions League encounter between Chelsea and Ajax.

Chelsea and Ajax head in Tuesday's Champions League encounter at Stamford Bridge having both earned six points from their opening three matches in Group H.

However, as a result of their narrow 1-0 success in Amsterdam last month, the Premier League outfit hold the smallest of advantages over their Dutch rivals.


Match preview

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic celebrates scoring their third goal to complete his hat-trick on October 26, 2019© Reuters

After back-to-back setbacks against Valencia and Liverpool in September, few would have predicted that Chelsea would go on to win eight of their next nine matches in all competitions.

The upturn in form has put the Blues in a promising position on both the domestic and European front, and Frank Lampard will be eager to continue their positive run against quality opponents on Tuesday evening.

While Lampard will no doubt remain frustrated with his side struggling to keep many clean sheets, Chelsea have been impressive at the other end of the pitch with each of their attacking players all making a contribution.

The most notable recent return has come from Christian Pulisic, who has four strikes from his last two Premier League outings, but it was Tammy Abraham who chipped in with a goal and an assist as Chelsea recorded a 2-1 triumph away at Watford at the weekend.

Despite the West Londoners equalling their club record of seven successive away wins, Lampard's team cannot afford to get any complacency ahead of facing a side who have also been impressive of late.

Ajax's sole defeat from 19 matches in all competitions is the one against the English outfit on matchday three, with 14 wins and four draws coming from the other outings.

Erik ten Hag will have small concerns over how Ajax almost blew a three-goal advantage against PEC Zwolle at the weekend, before David Neres's late strike earned a 4-2 success.

Nevertheless, losing out to Chelsea has not had a detrimental effect on this group of players, who have already established a six-point advantage at the top of the Eredivisie standings.

While simply qualifying for the last 16 of this competition would be regarded as another significant achievement, Ten Hag knows that registering maximum points at Stamford Bridge would put the club in an excellent position to go through as group winners.

Chelsea form: WWWWLW

Ajax form: WWWLWW


Team News

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante scores the opening goal in his side's EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Tottenham Hotspur on January 24, 2019© Reuters

While N'Golo Kante is in contention to return from a groin injury on Tuesday night, Lampard may keep the Frenchman on the substitutes' bench as a result of Jorginho's domestic suspension at the weekend.

Andreas Christensen and Ross Barkley are also pushing for a recall, but Lampard's sole alteration could see Marcos Alonso return in place of Emerson Palmieri.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Michy Batshuayi may be under consideration for a place in the team should Lampard opt to hand a rest to Pulisic or Abraham.

Edson Alvarez could come back into the Ajax side, with Donny van de Beek being used in a role further forward.

That may result in Quincy Promes dropping out of the starting lineup, despite his double against PEC Zwolle at the weekend.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham

Ajax possible starting lineup: Onana; Mazraoui, Veltman, Blind, Tagliafico; Alvarez, Martinez; Neres, Van de Beek, Ziyech; Tadic


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Chelsea 1-2 Ajax

While Chelsea have recently shown their qualities away from home, we cannot look past their below-par performances at Stamford Bridge. While the Blues may settle for a draw here, Ajax could capitalise and gain revenge for their defeat two weeks ago.



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Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring for Chelsea on October 2, 2019
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