It is a new period at Stamford Bridge and the Blues have taken an enormous guess by bringing in English supervisor Liam Rosenior to steer the membership. Solely 41, this can be a tall process for Rosenior to return from Strasbourg to Chelsea, however historical past can be in his favor. Chelsea have twice gained the Champions League of their historical past, lifting the trophy in 2012 and 2021. Every time, Chelsea modified their supervisor midseason and ended up successful the competitors. With Rosenior changing Enzo Maresca, the Blues wish to safe a top-eight place within the league section and direct passage to the spherical of 16 as they host former participant David Luiz and Pafos on Wednesday.
How you can watch Chelsea vs. Pafos odds
- Date: Wednesday, Jan. 21 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge — London
- Dwell stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Chelsea -699; Draw +700; Pafos +1600
A lot is being mentioned about Rosenior’s expertise, however in European soccer, he brings the identical stage of expertise as Maresca, who led Chelsea to a Europa Convention League title and glory on the Membership World Cup. Rosenior was managing Strasbourg within the Convention League this season earlier than taking on the Blues, and regardless of solely managing two matches to date, he was capable of maintain Chelsea aggressive, going through Arsenal in a League Cup defeat earlier than engineering a shutout victory over Brentford. However he is conscious that, regardless of this being the primary match that he’ll handle within the Champions League, not a lot modifications preparation-wise.
“I am proud to be right here [managing in the Champions League]. Like I’ve mentioned earlier than, my focus is on successful the sport. My focus is on success right here, so I am making ready a sport like we might another sport to verify we put in the very best efficiency to provide us an opportunity of successful the sport,” Rosenior mentioned in his pre-match press convention.
A participant who has already been key for the brand new supervisor is Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández. He has a objective and two assists in two matches below Rosenior and appears set to be a central determine in what Chelsea will do shifting ahead, and Rosenior expressed how essential Fernandez is to him. That ought to come as no shock when Fernandez has been capable of transfer from being a defensive midfielder to being a box-to-box midfielder or function as a No. 10, all with wonderful effectiveness. Together with Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes, Fernandez is among the most well-rounded midfielders within the Premier League and on the earth. If he can mix properly with Cole Palmer down the stretch, the Blues can completely turn out to be a dark-horse contender to win this competitors.
Rosenior groups have a popularity of being onerous to interrupt down defensively, so along with his system coming into play, Chelsea simply want a set assault that may make issues occur. With Fernendez’s versatility, they’ve a leg up. Whereas the Blues might want to show that they’ll take down groups like Arsenal sooner or later, exhibiting that they are aggressive now means there’s one other gear that Rosenior will help them unlock, but it surely all begins with defeating Pafos on Wednesday.
