Champions League
2010-10-19 - Spartak Moscow vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : Champions League Matchday 3
Tuesday 19 October 2010 - Kickoff 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Spartak Moscow (6 Points)
Spartak Moscow welcome Chelsea to their home stadium and will be hoping to make a giant step into the last 16 of the Champions League in their first time back in the Premier competition of Europe after a 4 year absence. Spartak beat Marseille in France 0-1 and followed that up with a comfortable 3-0 win over Zilina here last time out.
The team moved up to 4th in the Russian Premier League but they are 9 points behind 3rd placed local rivals CSKA Moscow and a further 8 behind the leaders Zenit St. Petersburg. They have an 11-6-6 domestic record, scoring 37 goals and conceding 27 in those games.
Spartak are in good form coming into the game, being unbeaten in their last 5 games and winning 4 of those. They have only conceded 2 goals in those games, and both of those came in the 1 game they drew. They have won 4 of their last 5 at home, the last two both 3-0.
Kirill Kombarov has been ruled out for the Russian side while Alex is dealing with an injury but should be good to go. For the British fans, Aiden McGeady will be a familiar face after his Summer move from Glasgow Celtic.
Chelsea (6 Points)
Chelsea have been chasing the Champions League as the ultimate prize ever since Roman Abramhovic took over at Stamford Bridge and they will have not come closer than in 2008 when they lost on penalties to Manchester United after John Terry missed a penalty to WIN the competition. The link to this game? The Final in 2008 took place here at the Luzhniki Stadium although this time they will be faced with an artificial field.
The Blues lead the way in the English Premier League, but saw their lead at the top cut to 2 points after Manchester City won at Blackpool on Sunday. They have a 2-1-1 record after failing to win their last 2 away from home without scoring a goal. Chelsea won their away game in the Champions League at Zilina 1-4 and backed that up with a home win over Marseille and already have one foot into the next stage.
Since losing back to back games against Newcastle United in the Carling Cup and Manchester City in the League, Chelsea have won 2 games and then drawn last time out at Aston Villa. They have kept 3 clean sheets in a row. Chelsea failed to score in their last 2 away games, but they did manage to score 13 goals in their previous 3 away from Stamford Bridge.
Daniel Sturridge and Solomon Kalou are both hoping to make their return here. Alex is another who missed the game at Villa Park on Saturday and could return here but it is unlikely that Didier Drogba will travel as his was suffering from a virus.
Head to Head
These two sides will be meeting for the first time in a competitive fixture.
Spartak Moscow had enjoyed success against English teams in their history, but more recent meetings have seen them stuggle to 3 defeats and 1 draw. At home, they have 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat against English opposition.
Chelsea have only played Russian opposition once before, and that was against Spartak's local rivals CSKA in 2004/05. The two meetings were both won by Chelsea without conceding a goal.
Spartak have already had better results at home in this campaign than they did when they last competed in the Champions League. On that occasion they had 2 draws and 1 defeat from the Group Stages.
Prediction
Spartak Moscow have already perhaps surpassed their fans' expectations with 2 wins from the first 2 games and they will know that if they can get a win here then they would almost be certain of a place in the last 16.
Chelsea are increasingly being criticised for the 2 away performances they have had in the Premier League at Manchester City and Aston Villa and I think that is unfair as they should have won the latter. The team has a few injury concerns at the moment which means the same 11 are being asked to do a job more often than not, but there is still plenty of quality in the side.
I was leaning towards a Chelsea win here but the injuries have just put me off slightly. The team is obviously performing well defensively and it is for that reason that I am going to take the Under 2.5 goal option here to start the day with a win.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Spartak Moscow 0-1 Chelsea
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Under 2.5 Goals for what should be a tight game - a draw suits both sides sitting on top of the group.
