Red Bull Salzburg vs Chelsea Match Anaysis and Prediction

2 years ago 437

Chelsea will be looking for a win that will help them secure a spot in the Champions League knockout stages when they travel to face Red Bull Salzburg in Group E on Tuesday.

The Blues sit at the top of the section on seven points, while their Austrian hosts sit one place and one point worse off.

Salzburg are still unbeaten in the section, but the were unable to hang on to a one-goal lead against Dinamo Zagreb on matchday four, as Nicolas Seiwald’s opener was cancelled out by Robert Ljubicic.

However, their fate remains in their own hands ahead of the second-last round of matches, and victory would be enough to guarantee them a spot in the last 16 if AC Milan and Dinamo Zagreb’s encounter ends all square, but they could also drop out of the top two iif results do not go their way.

Matthias Jaissle’s side have impressively gone unbeaten in their last 16 matches across all competitions this season, but were held to a goalless draw by Sturm Graz in league action at the weekend.

Defeating AC Milan by an aggregate scoreline of 5-00 has reignited Chelsea’s charge for the Champions League knockout rounds, and Graham Potter’s side only need to come away from the Red Bull Arena with another victory to guarantee a top-two finish.

Top Spot will not be guaranteed just yet, with Dinamo Zagreb still capable of sabotaging, and Chelsea have played out successive draws with Brentford and Manchester United heading into the contest.

Potter’s first game in charge of the Blues ended in a 1-1 draw with Salzburg at Stamford Bridge, as Noah Okafor cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener, and the hosts are battling both history and a hefty injury list in their bid to upset the Group E apple cart.

Red Bull Salzburg vs Chelsea head to head

These two teams have previously met on just two occasions, where Chelsea have claimed one victory while they have drawn once. Chelsea have scored six goals and conceded four in the process.

Salzburg 3-5 Chelsea 31/07/19

Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg 14/09/22

Red Bull Salzburg latest home form

RB Salzburg have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their eight most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Sturm Graz in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded three.

Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan 06/09/22

Salzburg 1-1 Rapid Vienna 18/09/22

Salzburg 1-1 LASK 01/10/22

Salzburg 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb 05/10/22

Salzburg 0-0 Sturm Graz 22/10/22

Red Bull Salzburg latest away form

RB Salzburg have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their nine most recent matches. They defeated Admira Wacker 6-1 in their last away game in the League Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 14 goals and conceded six.

Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg 14/09/22

Rheindorf Altach 2-3 Salzburg 08/10/12

Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Salzburg 11/10/22

Austria Vienna 1-3 Salzburg 16/10/22

Admira 1-6 Salzburg 19/10/22

Chelsea latest home form

Chelsea have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their 10 most recent matches. They played out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded three.

Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United 03/09/22

Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg 14/09/22

Chelsea 3-0 AC Milan 05/10/22

Chelsea 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 08/10/22

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United 22/10/22

Chelsea latest away form

Chelsea have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Brentford in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded just two.

Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea 06/09/22

Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea 01/10/22

AC Milan 0-2 Chelsea 11/10/22

Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea 16/10/22

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea 19/10/22

Red Bull Salzburg news

Salzburg have list of absentees to deal with for this contest, as Dijon Kameri, Sekou Koita, Nicolas Capaldo, Ousmane Diakate and Fernando are all expected to miss out.

Key midfielder Luka Sucic has also emerged as a fresh concern with an adductor injury, but captain Andreas Ulmer is hopeful to return from a knock.

Chelsea news

Reece James and Wesley Fofana remain out of contention for Chelsea due to their knee injuries, and N’Golo Kante will take a few months to recover from hamstring surgery.

Kalidou Koulibaly was a notable absentee from the draw with Manchester United and will need assessing here after having experienced knee pain after the Brentford draw.

Prediction and Odds

Regardless of their lengthy injury list, Salzburg are rarely kept at bay in the Champions League, and the Blues’ defence will need to be on top form to stop their hosts’ attackers.

Chelsea should take advantage of Salzburg’s depleted squad to secure victory and seal their spot in the knockout rounds.

Odds: 1 3.01 X 2.05 2 2.21