UEFA Champions League Preview and Live Stream Information: Schalke 04 vs. Chelsea; Steau Bucharest vs. FC Basel
Chelsea will be visiting Schalke 04, while Steau Bucharest will host FC Basel on matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League.
Schalke 04 vs. Chelsea
Schalke may be leading Group E, but the German side has yet to play a team with the quality of Chelsea, as both of these teams are favourites to qualify from their group because of the depth of their respective squads.
Royal Blues boss Jens Keller has set a very realistic mindset to his squad when he said that we would be happy to get away with a point.
"We have taken a lot of confidence from recent results and performances in the Champions League over the past years. With the fans behind us, we want to give our best," Keller told uefa.com.
"I have always said I want to win every game. However, a draw would be OK - we could certainly live with that. We have watched several Chelsea games."
"José Mourinho is a great coach with lots of qualities and he has achieved a lot. I have the utmost respect for him."
Keller is happy with how the way things are going for the German side, particularly, the development of his young players.
"Every game you play influences the next one and a good performance in the Champions League gives you a boost," he added.
"We are seeing Leon Goretzka's development as very positive."
"He has great ability and we will try and get him more involved with the first team. However, playing in the Bundesliga and playing in the Champions League is completely different, so we'll have to see."
Meanwhile, Blues boss Jose Mourinho was reminiscing of how his current team compared to the squad when he first came to Chelsea.
"The profile of the team is different to when I was here before. The older players are at the best stage of their careers," said Mourinho.
"At the same time, we have a lot of youngsters in the creative areas of the pitch. We used to be physically very strong but things are different now. We have to play a different kind of football with a different philosophy. I am building a new side and it's very enjoyable."
Probable Starting XI:
Schalke: Hildebrand; Aogo, Howedes, Santana, Uchida; Neustader, N/A; Draxler, Meyer, Clemens; Szalai
Out: Marco Hoger
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, N/A; Ramires, Lampard; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres
Out: Ashley Cole, Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel
Steau Bucharest vs. FC Basel
It's now or never for Steau as they will need to secure a win against visiting side Basel to keep their chances, of making it to the next round, alive.
This is probably the last chance for us to qualify for the next phase. We have to win to remain in the race for second or third place," Steau manager Laurenţiu Reghecampf told uefa.com.
"We will try to play more aggressively, and get two or three players around every opponent who has the ball."
"The odds are on Basel to win because we have conceded seven goals and scored none while Basel got three points against Chelsea in London."
"Basel have been playing better and better lately. We know them well - we played against them last season [in a 1-1 friendly draw in January 2013]. Marco Streller is a dangerous forward but they have other good players too."
In contrast, Basel boss Murat Yakin has no plans of underestimating the opposition despite the circumstances.
"At this stage we know a lot more about our opponents. Even if Steaua have conceded seven goals, tomorrow night will be a different story. They won't make life easy for us," said Yakin.
"It's back-to-back games with six points up for grabs. With a positive result in the home fixture we can start dreaming of a place in the last 16. We played well against Chelsea and Schalke."
"We have adapted to each of our opponents. I don't know if we can call ourselves favourites against Steaua because they are in desperate need of points. I have seen both of their games and they played particularly well defensively against Schalke. Tomorrow, we will try and play to our strengths."
Probable Starting XI:
Steau Bucharest: Tatarusanu; Parvulescu, Szukala, Gardos, Georgievski; Bourceanu; Pintilii; Tanase, Stanciu, Popa; Piovaccari
FC Basel: Sommer; Voser, Ivanov, Schar, Xhaka; Salah, Delgado, Frei, Andrist; Stocker; Streller
Schedule and Free Live Online Streaming (Link will be provided an hour before kick-off):
All games will be played on October 23, 2013 - 4:45 am (AEST)
Read also: Preview and Live Stream Information: Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund; FC Porto vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
Schalke 04 vs. Chelsea: LINK1 LINK2 LINK3
Steau Bucharest vs. FC Basel: LINK1 LINK2 LINK3