Schalke v Chelsea, Champions League: Where to Watch Live, Preview, Betting Odds and Possible XI

Roberto Di Matteo — Chelsea face Di Matteo for the first time after being sacked Reuters

Chelsea travel to Germany on Tuesday to take on Schalke in their fifth group game of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 7:45pm GMT. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 5 and Sky Sports 5 HD.

Overview

Chelsea fans will be reunited with Roberto Di Matteo for the first time since his sacking in November 2012, six months after the former Blues player had delivered their first Champions league trophy in their history. Di Matteo, who scored 26 goals in 175 appearances for the club as a player came back as an assistant for Andre-Villas Boas, who took over the reins of the club in 2011.

However, a series of unfortunate results led to a fallout with owner Roman Abramovich, who replaced Boas midway through the season with Di Matteo who led the club to their greatest European glory. Chelsea fans were upset over Abramovich's treatment of Di Matteo, with Rafael Benitez coming in as replacement and failing to strike a chord with the people.

However, the manager has moved on and has taken his first managerial position after replacing Jens Keller at Schalke. It is an important game for the Germans, who can all but secure their entry into the knockout stages with a win here but a loss will still keep them in the hunt for progression, albeit in difficult circumstances.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will be looking to keep their unbeaten record alive with a win and secure their entry into the knockout stages of the tournament. A draw will also be sufficient but Mourinho has urged his team to put their best foot forward and secure qualification at the earliest.

Their 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the weekend was a true reflection of their brilliance as they bossed the game for major parts to extend their advantage in the league. The Chelsea manager does not have any injury worries and will be able to field his best XI should he choose to.

Fabregas and Costa are expected to start the game Getty

What Managers Say

Roberto Di Matteo: "I don't think about much it, to be honest. All the people remind me of it, but I'm a person who looks to the future and doesn't live in the past. Those are the things I can influence. The past is there for everybody to see but I look forward. You can interpret it as you want. I'm more forward-looking than past-looking."

Jose Mourinho: "This is a match between Chelsea and Schalke and not Di Matteo and me. We need to get enough points in these last two matches to get through to the last 16. If we lose both matches we go into the Europa League. This team wants to be a very good one, and so they want to play against the best teams in the best competition, so I would feel very frustrated if we have to go to the Europa League."

Betting Odds (By 888Sport.com)