Chelsea v Steaua: Blues to make light of first-leg disadvantage
Published:4/11 shots to beat Steaua in 90 minutes, Chelsea must do just that to have a chance of advancing to the quarter-final stage of the Europa League.
The Blues find themselves 1-0 down on aggregate heading into this second leg, but they should have enough to go through, as proven by their 4/6 favouritism to qualify.
And given that they would need to triumph by a two-goal margin to progress in normal time, Chelsea could very well be worth investment in handicap markets.
It is 1/1 that the hosts overcome a theoretical one-goal disadvantage, as they would have done in half of their four most recent Stamford Bridge outings in all competitions.
The visiting side lost their last away game in Europe by a two-goal margin also, lending further weight to the idea that Chelsea -1 is a solid bet.
That last defeat resulted 2-0, and with that being enough to see the Blues through in 90 minutes, it may prove a popular correct score bet at 9/2.
It should be noted that Chelsea have been immensely strong defensively throughout the season meanwhile, and so they could also be worth investment to keep a clean sheet.
Rafa Benitez’s side have not been breached in two of their last three home games, whilst only Manchester City have conceded less Premier League strikes this term.
5/6 is available regarding Steaua failing to notch, but the 11/10 that Chelsea win to nil looks an even better bet.
Betting on the source of the hosts’ goals could prove profitable too, with Oscar representing a very interesting 8/1 chance to break the deadlock.
The Brazilian midfielder has scored five times in seven European appearances this season, with the majority of those goals coming at Stamford Bridge.
And Eden Hazard is another tempting option, also at 8/1.
Hazard struck in his last match against Manchester United, after bagging in Chelsea’s last home Europa League game, so the Belgian may continue his scoring form here.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
