The Champions League resumes this week, with Malmo welcoming Chelsea at home in their Group H encounter. The match schedules for Tuesday at the Eleda Stadion, with kickoff at 8:45 pm.
The defending champions sit second in the group behind Juventus. On the other hand, the visitors sit at the bottom of the group without a goal or a point.
Chelsea may have slipped to a shock defeat in Turin over the weekend, but they are well-placed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
Having begun their defense of the trophy with a 1-0 win against Zenit St Petersburg, then lost by that scoreline in Italy against Juventus, Chelsea took an important step towards the knockout stage earlier this month when they beat Malmo 3-1 at home.
Chelsea has now won their last 11 matches on the road in the Premier League, conceding just one goal in that run. They have also taken their tally of points from home in that competition to 13 this season – which is three more than any other team.
Having set out with the primary aim of maintaining their Allsvenskan status in 2016, Malmo exceeded expectations by completing the campaign at the top end of the table and claiming their 21st Swedish title.
The club’s subsequent qualification for this season’s group stage is a testament to the excellent work done by coach Roland Nilsson and his fellow coaching staff throughout last year.
Malmo vs. Chelsea Head to Head
Both sides have three games against each other, with Chelsea taking three wins while Malmo without one. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- IK Sirius 2-3 Malmo
- Malmo 1-0 AIK
- Varbergs BoiS 1-1 Malmo
- Chelsea 4-0 Malmo
Away
- Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea
- Chelsea 1-1 Southampton
- Chelsea 7-0 Norwich City
- Malmo 0-4 Chelsea
Malmo Team News
The hosts has a pair of notable absences for this contest as forward Ola Toivonen, and defender Jonas Knudsen has been unavailable with long-term knee injuries. For this match, the Swedish side will be aiming to pick up a victory as it would put them above their opponent in the table as they now both have 24 points from 14 matches.
Chelsea Team News
The Blues have a well-furnished squad to deal with any circumstances. Still, the injury list has been stretching since both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner got injured against Malmo in the Champions League.
Prediction and Odds
The Blues are likely to take their foot off the gas late in the second half, giving the Dogs more chance to get on track and get back into the game.
- Chelsea Win
- Goals Under 2.5
- Havertz to Score
