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The Chelsea vs Benfica clash will kick off at 2200EAT.
The match will be played at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho, famously known as ‘The Special One’, will make a return to his old stomping grounds when Chelsea vs Benfica clash at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Mourinho, the most successful manager in Chelsea history, will be looking to guide his new Benfica side to victory as the two teams battle for their first win in the 25/26 UEFA Champions League campaign.

He won three Premier League titles across two spells as manager with the Blues, while also lifting the EFL Cup on three occasions and the FA Cup in 2007.

The Portuguese tactician heads into the clash riding high on confidence after an unbeaten start to his tenure as Benfica boss (W2 D1) and will be hoping to stretch that run by getting one over his former employers.

The 62-year-old has faced his former employers on 14 occasions across all competitions, but has emerged victorious in only four of those games (D3 L7).

He celebrated victory on his first return to Stamford Bridge with Inter back in March 2010 but has since failed to win in each of his six away games there (D2 L4).

On the other hand, Enzo Maresca’s side will be out to get back to winning ways having endured a torrid run of form that has seen them produce only one win in their last five matches in all competitions (D1 L3).

The contest will mark the first meeting between the sides in the group/league phase of European competition, with each of their previous four encounters coming in knockout stages, the most recent of which took place at the Club World Cup three months ago, which Chelsea won 4-1 after extra-time.

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What time does the Chelsea vs Benfica game kick off?

Chelsea will host Benfica at Stamford Bridge with the game kicking off on Tuesday, 30 September from 2200 EAT.

Chelsea vs Benfica H2H record?

Chelsea have won all four matches between these teams, triumphing in the 2011/12 Champions League quarter-final (1-0 a, 2-1 h), 2-1 in the 2013 UEFA Europa League final and the aforementioned 4-1 extra-time victory in the last-16 of the Club World Cup.

Chelsea have also won all six games against Portuguese visitors at Stamford Bridge. Their most recent contests against a Portuguese team came again Porto in the 2020/21 quarter-finals with both legs played in Seville (2-0, 0-1) – that second-leg loss one of only two of Chelsea’s last 12 games involving Portuguese clubs they have not won (L2).

Benfica are without a win in seven matches against English teams (D3 L4), since a 3-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur in the 2013/14 Europa League round of 16 first leg.

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Chelsea vs Benfica Team News

Chelsea: Sánchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernández; Neto, Buonanotte, Garnacho; João Pedro
Out: Palmer (groin), Adarabioyo (calf), Fofana (calf), Delap (hamstring), Colwill (knee)
Doubtful: Caicedo (knock), Andrey Santos (knock), João Pedro (knock)

Benfica: Trubin; Dedić, Otamendi, António Silva, Dahl; Barrenechea, Ríos; Lukébakio, Aursnes, Sudakov; Pavlidis
Out: Bruma (Achilles), Bah (knee), Manu (knee)
Doubtful: None

What the coaches said ahead of Chelsea vs Benfica

Jose Mourinho: “I am not a blue any more. I am red and I want to win. Of course I will always be a blue. I’m part of their history and they are part of mine. I helped them to become bigger Chelsea and they helped me to become a bigger José. When I say I’m not a blue, I’m talking about the job I have to do [here].

[Stamford Bridge is] a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues; I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history. But that’s football. They want to win, I want to win. I will realize where I am before the match, I will realize where I am after the match; during the match, I think I have the capacity to forget and just to compete.

Enzo Maresca: “It’s absolutely a privilege to face José tomorrow. Legend for this club, but for different clubs too. It will be a privilege. From Benfica, from José , you can expect the way they are playing now – a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 – but they can also play a back five. He has shown throughout his career how good he is playing with different shapes.”