Group E begins for Chelsea with a trip to Dinamo Zagreb, the 198th different side we have met in all competitions but the first from Croatia. Quarter-finalists last season, the Blues have lost only twice in the past 15 Champions League games on the road.

The two-time winners will actually open the whole competition this year, with an early 5.45pm kick-off in the Croatia capital. That means the Blues will also be first to use semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) – which we also trialled for FIFA while winning last season’s Club World Cup. The system combines the tracking of 29 body parts with the use of a microchip in the ball to reduce delays and discrepancies on decisions.

This month’s international break aside, Chelsea will now alternate between Champions League midweeks and Premier League weekends up to mid-November. The intensity is such that while the Blues’ last group-stage campaign lasted 86 days, the winter World Cup has constricted that to just 58 this year (albeit including one FIFA break compared to last season’s three).

Hosts Dinamo, meanwhile, have already played six qualifying fixtures in this competition but had an extra day’s recovery as they beat Rijeka 3-1 at home on Friday (their 10th successive game without a clean sheet). Thomas Tuchel’s side should still be glowing from a sizzling derby victory three days ago.

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Chelsea team news

For the first time since January 2009 (against Stoke City), Chelsea came back from conceding the first goal in a second half at home to win a Premier League game, and by the same scoreline. Let us hope they packed the energy rush from Saturday’s late victory over London rivals West Ham in the packing cases to Zagreb. The same hard work and intensity will be needed against a Dinamo side who are very good at home.

It should help that the Blues have parity in this season’s competition now that the Premier League, like most in Europe, permits five replacements. And it was substitutes who had a thrilling impact against the Hammers. Kai Havertz, who certainly picks his moments but admitted he needed that second strike in 15 games, was set up by Ben Chilwell, who also netted magically himself. Lively Armando Broja had also come off the bench to feed Chilly with a measured pass for the winner.

All three could start, although mask-wearing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be ready for his debut. The prolific Gabon striker has taken the no. 9 shirt, while another potential debutant, centre-midfielder Denis Zakaria, will wear 20. The last player to make his bow in a UEFA competition was Trevoh Chalobah in the Super Cup last season. He may feature tonight as Thiago Silva has been rested; N’Golo Kante remains unavailable but Mateo Kovacic could start against his first professional club.

The Blues will target a second clean sheet of the season in Croatia, and could do so with Kepa Arrizabalaga between the posts although Edou Mendy has recovered from the injury received before Cornet’s scrubbed-out equaliser on Saturday. The Spain keeper’s last Champions League outing was the 3-3 draw at Zenit in December 2021.

Thomas Tuchel feels the Senegal keeper has been ‘a bit unlucky’ in recent performances, and all players could defend our area better than they are. Michail Antonio’s tap-in was the fourth goal after a set-play this season out of nine conceded. It does not help that the Blues are handing opponents almost a third more corner kicks than last season.

Wesley Fofana looked assured on the right of a back-three, though he sensibly kept things safe on his debut. The size of a pitch can be dictated by the speed of defenders and the positions they take up: the more pace, the higher the defensive line.

The new no. 33’s pace and reading of the game should allow the Blues to reduce gaps between defence and midfield. With these latest signings, only five Premier League squads have a greater average height than Chelsea’s.

Last season the Londoners lost the first away match of the group to Juventus (who went on to claim top spot) but had won the previous three. After seeing the ‘restart’ he wanted against the Hammers, Tuchel says his side have to be humble and ‘accept the fight’ this evening.

Most UEFA Champions League titles
14 Real Madrid (most recent 2021/22)
7 AC Milan (2006/07)
6 Liverpool (2018/19), Bayern Munich (2019/20)
5 Barcelona (2014/15)
4 Ajax (1994/95)
3 Internazionale (2009/10), Man United (2007/08)
2 Chelsea (2020/21), Porto (2003/04), Juventus (1995/96), Benfica (1961/62), Nottm Forest (1979/80)

Orsic the threat

Ante Cacic's Dinamo side completed the navigation of six Champions League qualifiers by overcoming Bodo/Glimt of Norway and are eight points clear in the defence of their league title. This is only the 20th match of a second spell in charge of the ‘Modri’ (Blues) for the former Croatia national coach.

Dinamo build from the back in a patient, technical fashion unlike the hectic rough and tumble we saw in Saturday’s derby at the Bridge. Out of possession they half-press defenders but are happy to take shots from anywhere and have well-worked set-plays and aerial threats – a concern for Thomas Tuchel given his team’s recent problems in that area. The simple goal for Rijeka that spoiled their perfect Friday evening, though, places question marks over their own defensive organisation on corners.

Cacic may field a wary 4-5-1 formation tonight, with tall Bruno Petkovic the classic lone striker, a deep lying playmaker such as Josip Misic, and mobile attacking midfielders such as highly rated Martin Baturina in between. Their sparky right-footed wingers, Dario Spikic and leading scorer Mislav Orsic, are also dangerous.

The latter was Dinamo’s hat-trick hero in their 3-0 Europa League defeat of Tottenham on this ground two seasons ago. Last season in the same competition they lost 2-0 to West Ham in Croatia (their only home loss in 11 home games) but won 1-0 – thanks to Orsic – in London.

In the Champions League, though, they have lost six of the last eight played in Zagreb and have a habit of conceding at least once in all competitions. Among their missing is summer signing Bosko Sutalo, but Cacic believes it is good to face the Blues early before our summer signings have settled in.

The rampant lion’s European pedigree

Over the span of 20 seasons no club has qualified for Europe’s elite competition as regularly as Chelsea. The Londoners have reached three finals since 2007/08 and have lifted the trophy twice. Only Liverpool (14) have won more major European and international competitions than the Blues’ nine.

Champions league qualifications 2002/03-2022/23
18 Chelsea
17 Man United
15 Arsenal
14 Liverpool
12 Man City
6 Tottenham
2 Newcastle
1 Everton, Leicester

Croatian rebels

AC Milan are the only Group E team Chelsea have met competitively before, so Zagreb (and indeed Croatia) is a first for the Blues. We did face Dimano’s predecessor, Gradjanski, then Yugoslav champions, way back on 27 May 1937 in the third game of a post-season friendly tour of the Balkans. The great Northern Ireland striker Joe Bambrick scored the only goal of the game against the hosts, who were then one of the continent’s football pioneers. They had, for example, taken part in one of the precursors of this evening’s competition, the 1928 Mitropa Cup.

Currently champions of their country and known as Dinamo since 2000 (after a brief reprise of Gradjanski) they share a shirt colour and nickname with Chelsea. Pride of place among their European achievements is beating Leeds in the 1966/67 Fairs Cup final, and this is their eighth appearance in the Champions League proper since 1982/83.

Youth League reunion

Earlier in the day two-time winners Chelsea take on Dinamo’s Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League, which mirrors senior group fixtures. European encounters at youth level can stick with a player through their career and Conor Gallagher may well recall the pulsating 2-2 draw with the Croatians at Cobham in the 2018/19 quarter-finals.

The Blues came from behind to win and the midfielder’s cross led to Luke McCormick’s all-important leveller. Zagreb-born Karlo Ziger decisively saved Roko Baturina’s penalty, but Joe Edwards’ youngsters eventually lost to Porto in the final.

Others young Blues that day were Ian Maatsen (currently on loan at Burnley), Marc Guehi (since moved to Palace), Tariq Lamptey and Billy Gilmour (both now at Brighton). Survivors in Dinamo’s 2022/23 squad are centre-back Josip Sutalo (not to be confused with team-mate Bosko Sutalo – no relation), midfielder Marko Djira, and winger Antonio Marin, responsible for both the visitors’ goals at Cobham.

Dinamo centre-back Josko Gvardiol moved on to Leipzig and was linked with a summer switch to the Bridge. The Blues’ 2019 hero Ziger is now back-up keeper at Gorica – who host league leaders Dinamo on Saturday.

Masked avengers

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s debut, when it comes, will remind fans of the remarkable number of other Blues forced to cosplay Zorro and don a protective mask on the pitch.

Chelsea’s ‘who’s that behind the mask’ list includes Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, Petr Cech, Andreas Christensen, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Paulo Ferreira, Nemanja Matic, Pedro, Ramires, Toni Rudiger, John Terry and Fernando Torres.

Dinamo’s home

The Maksimir Stadium, which currently has a capacity of around 25,000, has an airy feel. Like Stamford Bridge of old, the pitch is surrounded by a track and flanked by four separate stands of varying size, no roof, and open corners. The hosts are unbeaten there in all competitions since early December and tonight’s game is reportedly sold out.

Elsewhere in Group E

Serie A champions Milan, in Salzburg this evening, have had a testing week. The Rossonero were fined €2m (potentially rising to €15m) by UEFA for financial fair play breaches, then had to omit significant players from their 25-man Champions League squad.

Those who missed out include new signings Yacine Adli, Malick Thiaw and Aster Vranckx, as well as former Blues midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Their solid, unspectacular defence of the Scudetto continued at the weekend with a 3-2 victory in the Milan derby with two for in-demand Rafael Leao and another from former Bridge favourite Olivier Giroud.

Last month RB Salzburg sold key midfielder Mohamed Camara, who moved to Monaco as Aurelien Tchouameini’s replacement, having earlier seen Brenden Aaronson join former coach Jessie Marsch at Leeds. They lead the Austrian Bundesliga by a point after a 2-0 home win on Saturday.

Champions League fixtures

Tuesday
Dinamo Zagreb v Chelsea 5.45pm
Dortmund v FC Copenhagen 5.45pm
Benfica v Maccabi Haifa 8pm
Celtic v Real Madrid 8pm
RB Salzburg v AC Milan 8pm
PSG v Juventus 8pm
RB Leipzig v Shakhtar Donetsk 8pm
Sevilla v Man City 8pm

Wednesday
Ajax v Rangers 5.45pm
Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting Lisbon 5.45pm
Atletico Madrid v Porto 8pm
Barcelona v Viktoria Plzen 8pm
Club Brugge v Bayer Leverkusen 8pm
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich 8pm
Napoli v Liverpool 8pm
Tottenham v Marseille 8pm