Chelsea vs BATE Borisov Predictions

Chelsea may have slipped up a few times domestically over the last month or so, but their Europa League campaign is still looking very healthy at this early stage of the competition, even with their rather laboured performances against PAOK and Vidi.

A 1-0 win away from home against PAOK isn’t a poor showing by any means, but they were surprised by the resilience of MOL Vidi at Stamford Bridge in round 2 of the group stages. Still, they battled through to a 1-0 win, and it’s unlikely that they’ll show the same sort of complacency again after almost being caught out by the minnows of the group.

Chelsea’s performances overall this season have been very impressive, despite dropping a few points recently. Their first dropped points came in a disappointing draw away to West Ham, but their other failures to win have come against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. Still, they remain unbeaten in their 12 competitive games since the start of the league season, with 9 victories coming from that stint.

This is obviously a huge clash for BATE Borisov, and while the travelling fans are excited, there won’t be many of them expecting anything other than defeat on Thursday. The Belarusian side managed to beat Vidi in the opening round, but last time out they were hammered 4-1 at home to PAOK. A trip to Stamford Bridge is unlikely to be any easier for them.

BATE’s win away to Vidi was their first in 13 away days in major European competition too (excluding qualifying matches), and away from home in the Europa League they have lost 5 of their last 9. This includes a 6-0 demolition at The Emirates last season, which was preceded by a 5-2 loss at Koln just a month before.

In fact, 4 of these 5 defeats have been by more than a single goal margin, and they’re facing a Chelsea side who have won by more than a single goal 4 times this season. Considering the gulf in quality between the 2 sides, we think backing a Chelsea -2.0 Asian Handicap win looks the best option on Thursday, so we’re going for that along with a 4-0 correct score predictions.