Eden
Hazard will lead the list of absentees as Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri
prepares to rest a number of his star players for the Europa League clash
against MOL Vidi on Thursday night.
Having started their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win over Greek side
PAOK, a more straightforward victory is expected against the Hungarian
minnows at Stamford Bridge.
Vidi lost their opening group-stage match at home to BATE Borisov 2-0 and
are not expected to cause Sarri's side many problems.
Hazard was allowed to stay at home when Chelsea travelled to Greece last
month after citing fatigue, and Sarri is expected to leave the Belgian in
the stands for the second group game.
The playmaker could be joined by a host of stellar names given the night off
ahead of Chelsea's trip to face Southampton in the Premier League, live on
Super Sunday.
Victor Moses, Emerson Palmieri and Davide Zappacosta are among the other
squad players looking for a start while Callum Hudson-Odoi could make his
first appearance since the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City.
Team news
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is closing in on a return but is
unlikely to be risked while Pedro (shoulder) and Andreas Christensen
(illness) are doubts.
Cesc Fabregas will hope to get some playing time under his belt after
recently returning to first-team training.
Gary Cahill is expected to be handed a start after being a surprise omission
from the starting XI against PAOK.
Alvaro Morata is expected to start up front while Ross Barkley will also be
handed another opportunity in what is expected to be a severely weakened
Chelsea line-up.
Opta stats
This is Chelsea's first match against MOL Vidi and their first against
Hungarian opponents in their entire history.
MOL Vidi last faced English opposition in March 1985 in the UEFA Cup
quarter-final against Manchester United - after a 1-1 aggregate draw, the
Hungarians progressed on penalties.
Chelsea have never lost a single home European match (excluding qualifiers)
in a competition other than the Champions League (P35 W28 D7 L0).
MOL Vidi haven't won any of their last six away UEFA Cup/Europa League
matches, drawing one and losing five since winning 1-0 against Real Madrid
in the second leg of the 1984-85 UEFA Cup final.
Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata had seven shots on MD1, more than any other
player - despite this, none of these shots were on target
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