Chelsea v Zilina Champions League Betting Preview, Odds and Tips

Zilina v Chelsea Betting Odds

Zilina to win: 14/1 at Bet365
Draw: 5/1 at Bet365
Chelsea to win: 1/4 at Victor Chandler

Online Bookmaker Promotion: Online bookmaker Victor Chandler are running a Champions League football betting promotion to take notice of for this one. Their Late, Late Show promotion means that if a goal is scored in injury time during any champions League match that you place a bet on, Victor Chandler will refund all lost in-running bets. You will get your lost stake back as a free bet to soothe any heartbreak of a late, late goal ruining your bet. With great live in-play betting services, Victor Chandler also offer up to £100 in free bets for new customers.

Zilina v Chelsea Betting Statistics

• Chelsea have a 100% win percentage away from home this season
•  
• Zilina Champions League Record (including qualification matches): P18 W7 D5 L6
• Chelsea Champions League Record: P95 W47 D30 L18
•  
• Chelsea have scored 9 and conceded 1 goal in their away matches this season
•  
• Chelsea have scored the majority of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket
•  
• Chelsea have scored first in 100% of their matches this season
•  
• Chelsea 2010/11 Season Form: WWWW

Zilina v Chelsea Betting and Match Preview:

Incidentally, as random as all this may seem, this is not the first time that the two clubs have met in Europe. Back in 2002/03 Chelsea had to play Zilina in the qualifying round, and the result? That was a comfortable 5-0 aggregate victory for the Blues, who won 2-0 away from home in that encounter. There is a massive chasm in class between the two teams, and there will be only one expected outcome, and that is a Chelsea win. These are always interesting matches to watch, because the underdog teams always come out with some enthusiasm and tries to make life as difficult as they possibly can for the opposition. You can expect goals in this match, and because of that it gives you a good opportunity to look at Over/Under goals betting, Anytime Goalscorer (from Chelsea’s point of view) and of course Asian Handicap football betting. Chelsea will be expected to challenge for the big honours this season, and at first glance there doesn’t appear to be too much to worry about in the group. Carlo Ancelotti has a squad and settled side which could just turn Zilina’s Champions League debut into a bitter heartbreak.

Zilina v Chelsea Betting Tip: Salomon Kalou Anytime Goalscorer 2/1 at William Hill

Zilina Betting:

You may remember them from a couple of years ago when they beat Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup. Just two years after that, the Slovakian champions are now ready to grace the Champions League. After a good money injection back in the mid nineties, Zilina have grown well on the domestic front, pretty much dominating the scene over there in Slovakia. Their secret weapon is Momodou Ceesay, who is from Gambia and just 21 years young. He has been the one who has been scoring the crucial goals in the qualification campaign to get into the Champions League proper, and has hit a hat trick in the league this season for his new club. Now, the home fans will get a real taste of what Champions League football is all about, as they welcome one of Europe’s elite clubs, Chelsea to their 11,300 capacity stadium. As this is their first venture into the Champions League, there is nothing much to base your football betting on here if you are expecting a shock upset from the Slovakians. They could be entertaining, but you have to look at the professionalism and experience which Chelsea can bring to the table. If the Slovakians can somehow keep things tight and the back, and play with plenty of energy and tempo, they could cause Chelsea a few headaches, as the Blues weren’t always very convincing on the road last year in the Champions League. Still, there is a gulf in class between the two sides, and Zilina should taste their first Champions League defeat. Their main threats will be Momodou Cessay (who hit three goals in four qualification matches) and Tomas Oravec who scored three in six.

Chelsea Betting:

Boss Carlo Ancelotti will be without Didier Drogba for the first two matches of the new Champions League season. This is because he picked up a red card against Inter Milan in the last sixteen of the 2009/10 campaign, when the Blues were knocked out. To little surprise, Chelsea have gotten off to a flying start in the Premier League, winning their first four matches without breaking much of a sweat really. The loss of Drogba won’t affect the outcome of this match, as Chelsea are packed with enough quality to easily deal with the Slovakians. There will be a wait to see if Frank Lampard returns to action, as he missed Saturday’s win away at West Ham, but John Terry did make a return to the side for the victory. He presence, although he looked to be below par for a lot of last season, will make a difference and will be important if the Blues want to fulfil their dreams of becoming European Champions this year. They failed badly last year, and didn’t look enough of a quality side to get the job done. They ran out of ideas against Inter Milan and while Carlo Ancelotti hasn’t changed up the squad much, apart from the addition of Brazilian midfielder Ramires and ex Liverpool player Yossi Benayoun, they will rely on their superior passing skills to beat most teams. When West Ham scored on Saturday against Chelsea, that ended a run of 669 minutes in competitive football that Chelsea hadn’t conceded a goal, and in that period, they had hit 35 goals of their own. They look to be in full free scoring mode again this season, and that could spell a lot of danger for Zilina. Chelsea are outright favourites to win this group and they should get things under way quite convincingly here. There will be much tougher challenges to come from Marseille and Spartak Moscow, but Chelsea need to stamp their authority over the group with a convincing win, and have a record of six Match day one victories out of the last eight.

Zilina v Chelsea Football Betting Prediction: Away win