Graham Potter is ready for his debut as Chelsea boss Wednesday in the Champions League against an unpredictable Salzburg side. Will it be a happy start for him?
The Blues are expected to dominate the clash and bookmaker 10bet has the corners line set at 6.5 for the hosts with the odds at 2.05 for the over and at 1.71 for the under. The line for Salzburg is at 3.5 with the odds for the over at 2.25 and for the under at 1.58.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 13th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
Potter has taken over the only side that’s without a point in Group E following the first round of action. While Chelsea had a shocker against Dinamo Zagreb, Salzburg battled out a 1-1 draw at home against AC Milan. The Austrian side has developed really well in recent years and they can make this a very unpleasant debut for Potter.
The former Brighton boss has a lot of things to fix at Stamford Bridge and it should all start with the team’s defensive play. Chelsea were rock-solid at the back at first when Thomas Tuchel arrived but the performance level have dropped massively. The team conceded only 24 goals in Tuchel’s first 50 games in charge and a whopping 53 in his final 50 matches.
Offensively, things have gone poorly as well for Chelsea this season as they have managed to score just eight goals in seven outings. Potter’s Brighton was a very wasteful side and it will be interesting to see how he does with better quality players at his disposal.
Salzburg, who made it all the way to the round of 16 in the Champions League last season, head to London in great form. Last week’s draw with Milan is one of just two competitive games from 11 that the team hasn’t won this season. Manager Matthias Jaissle has made Salzburg a very tough nut to crack and he’s suffered only six defeats in total since taking charge in July last year
The 16-time Austrian champions play an exciting style of football and there are plenty of players Chelsea need to keep a close eye on. Four Salzburg players have notched at least four goals in all competitions this season and new signing Fernando has been particularly impressive with four goals and five assists in 10 games. On average, the former Shakhtar Donetsk man is involved in a goal every 63 minutes. Keeping him quiet will be a big task for Potter in his debut.
