Hello and welcome to football.london for live coverage of Chelsea’s Champions League showdown with Atalanta this evening from Bergamo.
The Blues could take a huge step towards automatic qualification in Europe tonight with three points, but face difficult opposition in Atalanta. Enzo Maresca spoke glowingly about the Italian side in Monday night’s pre-match press conference and the Chelsea head coach is aware of the challenge that presents his side this evening.
If Chelsea are to pick up the three points, it will be a big step towards automatic qualification via the top eight, while a defeat for the Blues would make it a lot trickier. Liam Delap is sidelined for the foreseeable future with a shoulder injury that he sustained in the draw with Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, while Cole Palmer has not travelled with the club looking to manage the 23-year-old’s work load after a two-month absence.
Kick-off in Bergamo is at 9pm local time (8pm UK) at the New Balance Arena. Bobby Vincent is in Italy to bring you live updates this evening.
