Throughout the whole of last season, Jose Mourinho was adamant that his Chelsea squad was not good enough to win either the Premier League or Champions League. Ultimately, the Portuguese coach was proven to be correct.
This time around, though, the 51-year-old will not be as negative with his outlook. Summer signing Diego Costa has started the new campaign in positive form in front of goal, while another new addition, Cesc Fabregas, has been at his unselfish best.
It means that Chelsea are the big favourites to advance through to the knockout stages as the winners of Group G, with Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 providing the first opposition at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening.
With his team currently on a winning run, it is unlikely that Mourinho will be looking to make many alterations. However, captain John Terry may be rested with the weekend's trip to Manchester City in mind, while Costa may also be left out for a similar reason. If the Spanish centre-forward is omitted, Loic Remy is likely to come into the side.
In contrast to Mourinho, Schalke boss Jens Keller has a number of his players ruled out through injury. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Julian Draxler are expected to feature, but the likes of Fabian Giefer, Sead Kolasinac, Felipe Santana, Leon Goretzka and Jefferson Farfan will all miss out.
These two sides have met on four previous occasions in the Champions League, with Chelsea winning three times and the other match being drawn. During those clashes, Schalke are yet to score a goal. Also, no German club has ever left Stamford Bridge with a victory.
Recent form
Chelsea: WWWW
Schalke: LLDL
Possible starting lineups
Chelsea: Courtois; Luis, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Oscar, Hazard, Willian; Remy
Schalke: Fahrmann; Aogo, Howedes, Matip, Ayhan; Fuchs, Neustadter; Draxler, Sam, Boateng; Huntelaar
Sports Mole says: 2-0
Liam Apicella
