Betting Tips: Chelsea vs BATE

Maurizio Sarri's side have secured two low-scoring wins in the Europa League so far this season but could break the shackles at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are in a fantastic position in the Europa League having won both of their opening games.

The Blues have recorded back-to-back 1-0 victories over PAOK and Vidi respectively and are 4/1 (5.0) favourites in William Hill's Europa League winner market.

William Hill make Chelsea just 1/10 (1.10) to extend their winning streak on Thursday night.

The same firm are 7/1 (8.0) on the draw and BATE Boriov are available at 28/1 (29.0) to spring a huge shock and win at Stamford Bridge.

Eden Hazard hasn't started a Europa League game so far this season and may well miss out here thanks to a back injury he picked up against Manchester United.

Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudon-Odoi are also sidelined for the Blues.

This is the first ever meeting between the two sides but BATE are familiar opposition to Premier League sides, having taken on Arsenal last season.

The Gunners won both meetings between the teams in this competition last term by an aggregate of 10-2 and the bookmakers clearly expect another straightforward victory for the hosts here.

The visitors also lost 4-1 at home to PAOK last time out and the Belarusians face another uphill task - especially because Sarri has named plenty of first team players in the previous two line-ups.

While Chelsea's wins in this competition have both been by a 1-0 margin, the Blues have attempted 50 shots so far but only 10 have been on target.

Given how poorly BATE have fared of late, backing a convincing home win makes sense, not least because the Blues have created so many opportunities in previous games that haven't been converted onto the scoreboard.

With a weekend clash with Burnley on the horizon, there are few reasons to look past this game or ease off so backing Chelsea to find plenty of joy going forward is the way to go.

William Hill are 8/11 (1.73) about Sarri's men scoring three goals, that's a bet that has landed against the visitors in three of their previous five Europa League outings.