Chelsea v Schalke: Weak link John Terry offers out-of-form Germans hope

John Terry's powers are diminishing

One team is flying, the other is in the midst of their worst start to a season in 46 years. The result seems obvious, but Lewis Jones has dug a little deeper and has found a bet that relies on the Germans troubling the Londoners...

Chelsea v Schalke
Wednesday, KO 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 1

Chelsea

Everything is very rosy in the Chelsea garden. Four games in and already some pundits are handing them the Premier League title after a run of impressive wins and a champions-like ruthlessness in front of goal.

The Blues have scored 15 goals in those four games with new signings Diego Costa (seven goals) and Cesc Fabregas (six assists) seemingly taking Chelsea to the next level.

To put it into context, last season, Chelsea strikers Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba scored just 19 league goals between them and only Eden Hazard racked up more than six assists over the course of the season.

They also possess the squad depth and manager to harbour hopes of a very fruitful European campaign.

Despite not coming into this year's Champions League as the English domestic champions, the west London side are the shortest in the betting of the four Premier League clubs for outright success.

Chelsea believers can get 7.87/1 for their dosh on the Blues to add another major European title to their roll of honour. It's a betting ploy that should have some trading potential as Chelsea are very consistent in this competition, reaching the semi-final seven times and the final twice.

If that level of stability happens again this year, you can all-but guarantee they'll trade shorter than 4.03/1.

Jose Mourinho lifted the Champions League with Porto (2004) and Inter (2010) and is bidding to become the first head coach to win the European Cup with three different teams.

Schalke

If Chelsea's form has been chalk, then Schalke are the cheese. A very stinky one at that. They have yet to win a competitive game in their domestic season and will travel to west London after an embarrassing 4-1 away defeat to Borussia Mnchengladbach.

Schalke were also dumped out of the German Cup by third-tier SG Dynamo Dresden, going down 2-1 to the bemusement of everyone associated with the club.

The Germans haven't endured a poorer start to a season in 46 years.

Things aren't likely to get any easier for Schalke boss Jens Keller either as he has a number of key players ruled out of this monumentally challenging tie with injury.

Fabian Giefer, Sead Kolasinac, Felipe Santana, Leon Goretzka and Jefferson Farfan will all miss out while exciting German talent Julian Draxler (yes, another one) will face a fitness test before the clash at Stamford Bridge.

The Royal Blues are most probably in a fight for second place in this group behind Mourinho's men, who are trading at 1.261/4 to go through as Group E winners.

Maribor and Sporting Lisbon await both teams after this clash with the Germans a 1.645/8 chance to make it through to the knockout stages. A feat they have achieved in each of the last four Champions League campaigns.

Match Odds

Chelsea are notoriously very strong at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League group stages.

Their Matchday One defeat against Basle last season was their first loss in 30 home group stage games, a run stretching back to 2003.

Barring a trip to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona, Schalke really couldn't have asked for a trickier away trip in European football, especially with their current form and injury predicament.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are an unbackable price for the working man, trading around the 1.351/3 mark. Meanwhile, an unlikely away win is being chalked up at 11.010/1. It's probably worth noting that Schalke have never scored in their four meetings with Chelsea and conceded eight goals in the process. Those that want to get the draw on side can get 5.95/1 for their money.

Both Teams To Score

The outright markets look best ignoring as Chelsea should win comfortably but the price very much mirrors that theory.

This looks a far more intriguing area to focus on with the shape of the markets seemingly glazing over the fact that the Blues have the joint-eighth worse defensive record in the Premier League so far this season, conceding six goals in four games.

Despite the euphoria surrounding Chelsea's title capabilities, they have a weakness in the centre of their defence. John Terry has already shown on multiple occasions this season that he lacks the speed over two or three yards to be trusted at the top-level to keep a grip on lively front-men and his own-goal on Saturday against Swansea had all the hallmarks of a man well past his best.

Gary Cahill, whilst being quick across the ground and solid in the air, is prone to an error or two and isn't a man to knit everything together in the back-four.

There's a clear weakness here that punters can exploit and Schalke, despite their woeful form, have the attacking speed and class to take advantage to our gain.

The Germans have scored in every game this season and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, supported by Draxler, are a front pair that should be able to continue that record at Stamford Bridge.

Both teams to score? Back yes at a shade of odds against or 2.111/10 to be precise.

If you're feeling greedy, then turning that 2.111/10 into 2.3411/8 can be done by backing Chelsea to win in a match that sees both teams to score. It's your call. Both bets should do the business.

Recommended Bet
Back Both Teams to Score @ 2.111/10