Graham Potter takes charge for Chelsea's Champions League match against Salzburg. James Cantrill has two bets for the fixture.
Football betting tips: Champions League
0.5pts Reece James to score anytime at 23/5 (Unibet)
0.5pts Nicolas Capaldo to be shown a card at 13/5 (BetVictor)
The Graham Potter era begins at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea welcome Austrian champions Salzburg.
Despite boasting a 64% win record, winning 40 games over a 64 game period, keeping 36 clean sheets and winning the Club World Cup, Super Cup and Champions League in just 12 months, Thomas Tuchel was relieved of his duties following defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
The club insists the move they made over a week ago was premeditated. They had to splash the cash to pry Potter away from the South Coast, reportedly paying £25m for his services.
Potter will likely stick with a three-man defence, meaning REECE JAMES will likely operate in his preferred right wing-back position.
Domestically last campaign, James averaged just under two shots per game, scoring five times and registering nine assists, giving him a G+A average of 0.68 - a staggering average for a defender.
Based on his goals per average (0.24) alone, James should be around 7/2 to SCORE ANYTIME for the visit of Salzburg, and that is without taking the quality of the opposition into account.
They held AC Milan to a 1-1 draw on gameweek one and were good value for the point. However, they only picked up one point on the road in this competition last term, failing to keep any clean sheets.
NICOLAS CAPALDO has an efficiently cynical card record. Since leaving his native Argentina, despite only playing for a combined total of 2,589 minutes domestically and in the Champions League, he has racked up 12 bookings. That is an average of one every 216 minutes.
It is particularly impressive that in the eight UCL appearances, many via the bench, he has picked up four cards. Based on his cards per 90 average alone (0.43), 6/4 would represent sufficient value here.
Obviously, there is plenty more to factor into that price, but I think he is worth backing to be SHOWN A CARD.
It is also worth pointing out that Ivan Kruzliak has the whistle for this one. He has overseen ten matches in this competition, averaging 5.1 cards per game, so there could be a few tonight.
Chelsea v Salzburg score prediction and best bets
- 0.5pts Reece James to score anytime at 23/5 (Unibet)
- 0.5pts Nicolas Capaldo to be shown a card at 13/5 (BetVictor)
Score prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Salzburg (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Odds correct 1230 BST (13/09/22)
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