Chelsea vs Pafos Prediction: Blues can take a step closer to the last 16

Chelsea host Pafos at Stamford Bridge in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday (20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 3), as they sit two points outside the top eight with two games left to play.

Pafos are currently one point outside the play-off positions, so there is plenty riding on this contest. Read on for my Chelsea vs Pafos predictions, where you will also find the latest match odds and team news.

Team News

Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo will need to have the hamstring injury that he picked up at the weekend against Brentford assessed.

Estevao (illness), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (illness) and Malo Gusto (knock) will also be monitored ahead of the game, while Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping ban), Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Levi Colwill (knee) are all ruled out.

Football Odds

Former Chelsea defender David Luiz is set to miss a reunion with his old club after picking up an injury in Pafos' league defeat against Olympiakos Nicosia on Saturday.

It was a bad day for the Cypriot side as David Goldar, the man who replaced Luiz during the game, picked up an injury himself.

Today's Football Fixtures

Chelsea vs Pafos Odds

Chelsea are overwhelming favourites to win this clash at 1/9, so value with a Blues victory will need to be found elsewhere. Two of their three European victories have come with a clean sheet and they are 8/11 (implied probability of 57.9%) to win to nil.

Two of Pafos' away trips in the league phase have ended in a stalemate, with the draw on offer at 8/1 on this occasion.

The visitors are 20/1 to cause the upset.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer is the 10/3 favourite to open the scoring on Wednesday.

Handicap +2 - Chelsea -2 @ 1/1

Chelsea are in an excellent position to swoop in and snatch one of the top-eight places in the league phase to go straight through to the round of 16, and in their final home game against a side who have managed just one win so far, they will be expected to win comfortably.

Pafos have battled hard in this campaign but it has so far not been enough to carry them up the table. I think even with a defeat here, they will likely have a shot of making the play-offs in their final home match against Slavia Prague next week.

Given the abundance of resources that Chelsea have at their disposal, I am expecting a routine victory for Liam Rosenior's side and so I am covering them with a -2 handicap. This gives Pafos a hypothetical two-goal lead. So for the bet to be a winner, Chelsea would need to win by three-plus goals.

This has been a successful bet in two of the Blues' three home appearances in the UCL this term and I predict this trend will continue.

Player To Receive A Card - Ivan Sunjic @ 2/1

As a Birmingham City fan, I know more than most what to expect of Pafos midfielder Ivan Sunjic. The midfielder gets himself about and is charged with regaining possession, but there are a lot of times where he will fail to win the ball and take down his man.

The Bosnian is going to have a tough job in the middle of the park up against the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos, so I reckon he will be drawn into several challenges on Wednesday night.

I think 2/1 offers good value for Sunjic to pick up his third yellow card of the league phase.

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