Chelsea vs Steaua Bucharest: Match preview and analysis

On current form, Chelsea hold a slight edge over their Romanian counterparts although the Blues did lose their most recent group encounter to FC Basel. However, Steaua are already out of the competition having failed to register a win in any of their 5 matches so far, drawing 3 matches and losing the other 2.

Chelsea aren’t exactly where they want to be at the moment. The team isn’t gelling together as it should be. Even though Mourinho’s men look to dominate possession (and manage to do just that) in order to keep a control of the game, there are far too many basic errors committed that end up leading to their downfall. Either they fail to convert their chances or the defence is unable to keep other teams from scoring. The reasons for these problems are wide-ranging and include a lack of organisation as well as players simply not playing well enough, and they need to be sorted out sooner rather than later if Chelsea are to get into a good run of form soo enough.

The match against Steaua Bucharest couldn’t come at a better time for the Blues, who will be looking to turn their fortunes around after a Premier League loss to Stoke. The Romanian side were hammered 0-4 by Chelsea the last time they met in the Champions League group stages and might well prepare themselves for another long night if Chelsea decide to turn up against them. Even a half-decent performance from Chelsea will be enough to ensure a comfortable victory against Steaua. However, whether or not Chelsea perform well will depend on what formation and personnel Mourinho chooses to use.

The Special One has looked to experiment with a 4-3-3 formation as well as a 4-2-2-2 on occasion (he’s never started with 2 strikers up front but has brought on an extra striker from the bench whenever needed) and he needs to not only pick the right formation but the correct personnel. Mourinho has been guilty of not starting many of his better players on occasion and will need to avoid making such mistakes against Steaua Bucharest.

On paper, this fixture seems an easy enough one for Chelsea. But football games are never won on paper and Chelsea will have to put in a better performance than they did against Stoke if they are to finish top of Group E. The fact that Steaua are out and have nothing but pride to play for could work in their favour as they will be able to play without too many restrictions whereas Chelsea still have incentive to win this match. It doesn’t change the fact that Chelsea are the much better team and are therefore clear favourites but make no mistake, they will have to perform well in order to win this match.