Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League when they host Pafos FC at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The curtains will fall on Matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The action on the day will kick off with two early games before ending with seven simultaneous matches, including Chelsea vs Pafos FC at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea could not have asked for a worse start to the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League after falling to a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich. However, they bounced back by embarking on a four-match unbeaten run, which included a shock 3-0 win over Barcelona. But the 2-1 defeat to Atalanta on Matchday 6 has left the West London club in the 13th spot on the table.
Since then, Enzo Maresca has departed from Stamford Bridge, with Liam Rosenior taking over this month. The English tactician has overseen two wins in his three outings as the Chelsea boss, and the Blues bounced back to winning ways by beating Brentford 2-0 this past weekend.
On the other hand, few would have expected Pafos FC to be as competitive as they have been in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. The Cypriot champions have produced impressive displays against Olympiacos, AS Monaco, and Villarreal, beating the latter 1-0 to occupy the 27th spot in the standings.
While a top-24 finish will be a tall order, Juan Carlos Carcedo’s men will not go down without a fight. Meanwhile, the visitors come into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Olympiakos, and they have been on a topsy-turvy ride in recent weeks.
Wednesday’s match will be the first-ever clash featuring Chelsea and Pafos FC, and The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Liam Rosenior has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea manager may be bereft of the services of as many as eight first-team players vs Pafos FC on Wednesday.
Tosin Adarabioyo is the latest absentee after picking up a hamstring injury this past weekend in the game against Brentford. The former Fulham defender has joined Levi Colwill (knee), Romeo Lavia (hamstring), and Dario Essugo (thigh) in the treatment room. Additionally, Rosenior is sweating over the fitness of Malo Gusto, Enzo Fernandez, Jamie Gittens, and Estevao Willian.
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Pafos FC on Wednesday. The backline will feature Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, and Jorrel Hato.
As for the midfield unit, Andrey Santos will join Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Joao Pedro reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Liam Delap will lead the line for Chelsea against Pafos FC, with Tyrique George and Estevao being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Acheampong, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato; Caicedo, Santos; Estevao, Pedro, George; Delap
Pafos FC
Like his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, Juan Carlos Carcedo has a new issue to worry about ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. The Pafos FC manager will be without three first-team players on Wednesday.
David Luiz may miss out on a reunion with Chelsea after coming off with an injury this past weekend. Luiz’s replacement, David Goldar, also sustained a knock, while Joao Correira is also struggling with a minor issue.
Neofytos Michail will take his spot between the sticks, with Pafos FC lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Saturday. The backline will feature Bruno, Derrick Luckassen, Bruno Langa, and Kostas Pileas.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Pepe, Ivan Sunjic, and Domingos Quina in the middle of the pitch. Finally, Anderson Silva will spearhead the Pafos FC attack against Chelsea, with Mislav Orsic and Vlad Dragomir being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Michail; Bruno, Luckassen, Langa, Pileas; Pepe, Sunjic, Quina; Dragomir, Silva, Orsic
Key Stats
- Wednesday’s clash will be Chelsea’s third-ever meeting with Cypriot opposition, winning 1-0 away and drawing 2-2 at home with APOEL Nicosia in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League previously. Meanwhile, Pafos FC will take on English opposition for the first time on Wednesday. Cypriot sides have only won one of their 21 meetings with English teams in all competitions (D3 L17), with AEK Larnaca winning 1-0 at Crystal Palace in this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League.
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 14 home games in the UEFA Champions League group stage/league phase (W10 D4), winning the five most recent games, including all three this season by an aggregate score of 9-1.
- Pafos are yet to score away from home in the UEFA Champions League, managing two 0-0 draws followed by a 2-0 loss to Juventus.
- Of teams in the bottom 12 coming into Matchday 7, only SL Benfica (8) have conceded fewer goals than Pafos (9). That is despite the Cypriot side facing more shots than any other side in the UEFA Champions League this season (123).
- David Luiz won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in 2012. The Brazilian has scored in two of his last three appearances at Stamford Bridge in the competition, with PSG in March 2015 and for the Blues against AS Roma in October 2017.
Player to Watch
Estevao Willian
While Joao Pedro, Mislav Orsic, and Anderson Silva were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Estevao Willian as the Player to Watch for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash between Chelsea and Pafos FC at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian wonderkid has scored in all three Champions League starts for Chelsea. The only teenager to score in his first four starts in the competition was Kylian Mbappe (2017), and the only Brazilian to do so was Elpidio Silva (2001). No Chelsea player has ever done so, and Estevao will be eager to deliver the goods in the final third for the home side this midweek.
Prediction
Chelsea 3-1 Pafos FC
With Chelsea showing promising signs in the early days of the Liam Rosenior era, another positive display is on the cards on Wednesday. While the English tactician will make a few rotations, his charges will deliver the goods again in the midweek UEFA Champions League clash.
However, Pafos FC will not go down without a fight, and they may even exploit Chelsea’s defensive woes to score an away Champions League goal for the first time this term. But that may only be a consolation strike, as The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 victory for Rosenior and his charges.
