Diego Costa Starts, Chelsea Likely Line Up For Porto

The Blues travel to Portugal to tackle Porto in the second game of the group stages of the Champions League after a convincing win against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Match Day one. The reigning Premier League champions laboured to a draw against Newcastle United on Saturday, as they had to come back from two goals down to level the tie.

Jose Mourinho will now be hoping his charges put up a decent performance enough to clinch all three points against his former employers – where he first enjoyed Champions League success. Chelsea have lost once in five games in all competitions while Porto are unbeaten in the same number of games. Hence, it will be interesting to see which team will eventually come out victorious at the Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday evening.

Nevertheless, Mourinho would definitely be fielding his best available options for the game. Here is Chelsea’s probable starting XI:

Goalkeeper:

Once again, Asmir Begovic will assume goalkeeping duties which the Bosnian has been doing since the injury suffered by first-choice goalie Thibaut Courtois. Mourinho will certainly be urging his defence – which has been disastrous so far this term – to put up a brilliant display against the Portuguese outfit. It is up to Begovic to deliver the team in the best possible way, as the defence is pretty shambolic.

Defence:

The Blues’ defence will feature a usual four-man back-line but this time Baba Rahman and Cesar Azpilicueta will both man the left-back and right-back areas respectively, while captain John Terry is expected to return to central defence to partner Gary Cahill. Terry will be handed a recall to the starting XI after sitting out the entirety of the 0-0 draw to the Magpies during the weekend, and Kurt Zouma will have to settle for a bench role following his unimpressive displays against Steve Mc Claren’s side.

Midfield:

Nemanja Matic and Ramires will be in front of the Blues’ defence line, with the former serving as a shield for the back line and the Brazilian handed the task of breaking the opposition attacks. Ramires will get his reward following his inspiring performance against Newcastle at the weekend after his introduction towards the end of the game helped the Blues to a draw. Mourinho will also go with the trio of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Willian in the attacking midfield position as the Portuguese boss will be hoping his midfielder create early chances and score first in other to heap pressures on Porto.

Attack:

Diego Costa and Loic Remy might not start the game against the Portuguese outfit. As such, it would mean a start for Radamel Falcao as Mourinho still believes in the ability of the former Porto and Atletico Madrid goal machine. The Colombian forward will also be looking to repay the faith put in him by his manager.