Chelsea v Slavia Prague Betting Tips: Blues to stroll into semi-final?

Odds and preview for Europa League clash

Chelsea left it late against Slavia Prague in last week’s Europa League quarter-final first leg. They needed an 86th-minute Marcos Alonso goal to break the deadlock at the Sinobo Stadium.

But having established a 1-0 lead, they’ll be very confident at home against a side that tends to struggle away in Europe.

We’ve got all the odds ahead of kick-off at 8:00pm on BT Sport 3…

Head-to-Head

These sides had never faced each other before last week’s first leg. But Slavia Prague will need a big display to turn it around. They’ve only won three away games in European competition proper since 2005.

Likely XIs

Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Alonso; Kovacic, Kante, Barkley; Pedro, Giroud, Willian

Slavia Prague: Kolar; Coufal, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Deli, Boril; Traore, Soucek, Kral; Stoch; Masopust, Olayinka

After getting a vital away goal last week, Maurizio Sarri is likely to rest a few of his stars tonight. Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso should be among those to come in.

The visitors should welcome Tomas Soucek back into midfield. Miroslav Stoch will also line up against his former side. He only made five appearances for the Blues during a four-year spell in West London. The Slovakian will be looking for his first goal at Stamford Bridge.

Key Battles

Even though Eden Hazard is set to be given a breather, Slavia will still need to be wary of Chelsea’s quality in the final third. If the Blues score once, they’ll have a mountain to climb. Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side will look to keep things tight and nick a goal on the break.

Ross Barkley could be the key man for Chelsea. He’s lost his place in the side to Ruben Loftus-Cheek recently. A good display here could see him starting regularly again. Sarri will want the former Everton man to bring Chelsea’s attacking trio into the game.