Having failed to relax the vice-like grip of pressure that Maurizio Sarri’s role is under by losing to Manchester United, Chelsea must now progress to the Europa League round of 16 against Malmo in order to slow the anti-Sarri tide.
Goals from Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud ensured a 2-1 advantage, leaving the Blues well positioned when the Swedish champions visit Stamford Bridge.
Despite Sarri-ball not going to plan, Chelsea remain unbeaten in the competition and should progress easily with home advantage having scored two away goals.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is suffering with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to feature. The appearance of Pedro and Davide Zappacosta is also in doubt as they both suffered from illness.
Malmo rested a number of key payers including goals-scorer Anders Christiansen in their 3-2 Swedish Cup win against second-tier Degerfors in preparation for Chelsea in the Europa League.
What time does it start?
Malmo vs Chelsea kicks off at 8pm on Thursday February 14.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from 7:30pm. BT Sport subscribers can also watch via the website or app.
Predicted line-ups
Malmo: Dahlin; Nielsen, Bengtsson, Safari, Vindheim, Reiks, Christiansen, Bachirou, Traustason, Rieks, Rosenbourg, Antonsson
Chelsea: Caballero; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson, Kovacic, Barkely, Jorginho, Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Giroud
Form guide…
Malmo: WLDLWD
Chelsea: LWLWLW
Head-to-head…
Europa League 14/02/19 – Malmo 1 (Christiansen), Chelsea 2 (Barkley, Giroud)
Odds…
Malmo to win: 9/1
Chelsea to win: 14/1
Draw: 11/2
(Odds provided by Betfair)
Prediction…
1-0
