Chelsea have the opportunity to secure their spot in the knockout phase of the Europa League on Thursday should they win away at BATE Borisov, having won the first leg 3-1 at home.
Maurizio Sarri's side have progressed through the group stage of the European competition with ease, having registered three wins in three games, conceding just one goal.
The manager can afford to rest star player Eden Hazard once again as the Belgian recovers from an injury he picked up a couple of weeks back in the draw against Manchester United in the Premier League, and is likely to re-jig his squad for the fixture in Belarus.
| Game | BATE vs Chelsea |
| Date | Thursday, November 8 |
| Time | 5:55pm GMT / 12:55pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
Next Match
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Univision NOW | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 2 and livestreamed on BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 2 | BT Sport Live |
Squads & Team News
| Position | BATE players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Scherbitski, Chichkan |
| Defenders | Rios, Polyakov, Filipenko, Volodko |
| Midfielders | Baga, Yablonski, Dragun, Hleb, Berezkin, Volkov, Moukam |
| Forwards | Ivanic, Tuominen, Stasevich, Skavysh, Gordeychuk, Signevich |
BATE manager Alyaksey Baha has no major injury concerns on his mind as his side gear up to face Chelsea, and former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb will be eager to face his former London rivals.
Confirmed BATE XI: Scherbitski, Rios, Volkov, Filipenko, Filipovic, Dragun, Hleb,Baga, Stasevich, Signevich, Skavysh.
| Position | Chelsea players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Kepa, Caballero, Bulka |
| Defenders | Rudiger, Alonso, Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Azpilicueta |
| Midfielders | Jorginho, Kante, Hazard, Barkley, Pedro, Loftus-Cheek, Ampadu, Hudson-Odoi, Moses, Willian |
| Forwards | Giroud |
Hazard is in the starting XI but is unlikely to feature for the full 90, while neither Cesc Fabregas or Alvaro Morata have travelled with the squad.
Olivier Giroud was unavailable for selection on Sunday with a minor injury but starts Thursday's game. Fabregas has been forced to pull out of the squad due to illness, while N'Golo Kante has been rested, allowing Jorginho to play with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley in midfield.
Confirmed Chelsea XI: Kepa, Zappacosta, Christensen, Cahill, Emerson, Barkley, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Pedro, Giroud, Hazard
Betting & Match Odds
Chelsea are priced at odds of winning 3/10 according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 5/1. A win for BATE is priced at 10/1.
Match Preview
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Though Chelsea's spot in the round of 16 has been all but secured, BATE will head into the fixture as one of three teams tied on three points in Group L – albeit sitting rock-bottom in the table.
The Belarusian champions will know that any positive result against Chelsea could have a significant impact on their chances of surviving in the Europa League beyond the group stages. Avoiding a loss against the Blues at home would give them faint hope of progressing to the knockout phase of the competition, as the fight for second place continues.
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the star of the show at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture between the two sides in October when he scored a hat-trick to steal all three points for the home side.
The 22-year-old has struggled to break into the starting XI in the Premier League but has started twice in Europe.
Sarri's side have adopted his playing style seamlessly, and the Blues are unbeaten since losing the FA Community Shield 2-0 to Manchester City – having registered 13 wins in 16 games in all competitions.
Belgium star Hazard had returned from an injury lay-off when he came off the bench against Crystal Palace last weekend.
However, he is likely to be rested ahead of the Premier League clash with Everton on Sunday, as Sarri confirmed that he would be easing the international back into the squad after he had missed a few fixtures – and insisted that it would not be a gamble to include him in the squad.
He told reporters: "From our doctor, there is no risk, otherwise he would stay at Cobham [training ground].
"In the last match, he played 30 minutes, the best for [the BATE game] is that he plays 45 to 50 minutes."
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