Chelsea offer the value, but trip to Shakhtar could go either way

Losing against Shakhtar would be more of a blow for Chelsea than defeat against Manchester United in their next Premier League fixture.

There is speculation that Roberto Di Matteo may rest some players for the trip to the Ukraine with Man Utd visiting Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

However, a defeat to Shakhtar would make them third favourites to qualify from Group E, assuming that Juventus win in Denmark against Nordsjaelland, while they would still be top of the Premier League if they lost to the Red Devils.

Therefore, it is unlikely that Di Matteo will tinker too much and so Chelsea are surprisingly underdogs to beat Shakhtar at 19/10.

Punters may have already been stung this season opposing Chelsea in tough-looking away games, as they have left both London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham with maximum points.

Now they head to Shakhtar, who are unbeaten in their four career home meetings with English opposition, with three victories in this streak.

But Chelsea have only lost two of their last 11 group games on the road in the competition, which may boost confidence in the draw at 9/4.

Putting a line through Juventus, some punters may alternatively favour Shakhtar at 29/20.

Chelsea were outplayed for the most part in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge with Juventus, while Shakhtar were the better team when travelling to the Italian champions and gaining a 1-1 draw in the last round of fixtures.

Much will hinge on whether Shakhtar are allowed to attack at pace, as Chelsea have already been done by speedy attacking movement this season in the Super Cup defeat by Atletico Madrid.

A little bit of insurance for those considering backing Chelsea could come in the 10/11 on a Blues victory in the draw no bet market.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.