This is a must-win game for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea. Murmurings of discontent have already engulfed the club after just a few months of the 25/26 campaign.

Chelsea do have real issues in certain areas, but back-to-back red cards against Manchester United and Brighton have slightly skewed the picture of where Chelsea are really at.

Prior to recent defeats against Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Brighton, Chelsea were on an unbeaten run of 11 matches; the Blues had only lost two of their last 22 matches across all competitions when widening this sample size a little further.

This would suggest that despite Chelsea’s recent implosion, there is a really talented team underneath the mess that currently cannot find any rhythm, likely because of the injuries the Blues are contending with.

That being said, Maresca has done superbly well to make Stamford Bridge a fortress again. Chelsea’s loss against Brighton was their first defeat at home since their defeat to Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals of the Conference League.

Chelsea had periods like this last season. There was a period in February when Chelsea lost three games in a row, which was followed by a series of four victories. With Liverpool coming on the weekend, it feels as though Maresca simply cannot afford to lose here.

Not much has gone right at Chelsea so far this season, but one area where the Blues have been strong is corners. Only Arsenal (45) and Tottenham (41) have had more corners in the Premier League than Chelsea so far this term (38 - 6.33 per game).

Their games at Stamford Bridge have produced 22 corners (7.33 per game) with 5+ corners landing in each of these matches against Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Brighton. Chelsea have managed to score five goals from set-piece situations this season, which makes up nearly half of the total goals that Maresca’s side have scored.

This would indicate that set pieces aren’t just a solid addition to the setup of Chelsea but that they are one of Chelsea’s only reliable routes to goal at the moment. Chelsea can continue to utilise this avenue against a Benfica side that will look to emulate a classic Jose Mourinho performance on the road, which usually involves a low block.

Fernandez has received his fair share of criticism so far this season but in my eyes, he is the only Chelsea player worth backing at the moment in the final third. The Blues look heavily disjointed in the absence of Palmer and other key players in Maresca’s system but Fernandez has stepped up to plug that gap - no Chelsea player has registered more goal contributions than Enzo Fernandez this calendar year (19).

Fernandez scored the opener against Brighton last time out, ending the game with four shots, two of which managed to find the target. These efforts take his tally to nine for the season in the Premier League (1.53 per 90). His recent haul of shots against Brighton would suggest that he is being platformed as the temporary replacement for Palmer with Maresca still not 100% trusting Facundo Buonanotte in that role.

Fernandez had one shot against Bayern Munich in Chelsea’s opening game of the Champions League campaign and I’d back him to go one better here against his former side. Fernandez averaged 1.62 shots per 90 across his 36 Premier League appearances last season and this term could be his best scoring season to date at Chelsea with the Argentine already netting three times in the Premier League.

Otamendi has committed six fouls across his seven appearances for Benfica in Liga Portugal so far this season (0.86 per 90) and committed three fouls in Benfica’s opening game of the Champions League campaign against Qarabag.

Benfica committed 11 fouls in total in that game and I’d expect them to be as aggressive at Stamford Bridge under the guidance of Jose Mourinho. Otamendi averaged 1.00 fouls committed per 90 across his 12 appearances in the Champions League last season. I’d expect him to be tested here by Joao Pedro who isn’t a true number nine and will drag Otamendi into central areas.

Joao Pedro has won 13 fouls across his six appearances in the Premier League this season (2.29 per 90) so we can expect him to be a real threat against the veteran centre back. Joao Pedro was a real handful for the Bayern Munich backline on his Champions League debut as he drew four fouls in Chelsea’s opening game of their European campaign.

It’s pretty clear that Joao Pedro is not a striker but Chelsea don’t have many other options at the moment with Liam Delap injured until at least after the international break and Marc Guiu not yet fully trusted by Enzo Maresca.

It is pretty embarrassing that Chelsea have ended up in this position. Joao Pedro leading this Chelsea side means that the Blues have the exact same dynamic as they did last season with Jackson leading the line.

Both are talented players, but neither are capable of being true strikers which leaves Chelsea a little blunt in forward areas, especially without their talisman in Cole Palmer.

That being said, Pedro is still talented enough to have an impact on the game. He’s registered five goal contributions in the Premier League so far this season and taken nine shots (1.58 per 90), three of which have found the target (0.53 per 90).

This isn’t the most appealing record when looking to back him for two or more shots on target here but I think he’ll get more joy against a side that won’t be as physical or intense as the sides he’s used to facing in the Premier League.

Pavlidis boasted an excellent record in the Champions League last season with the 26 year old netting seven goals across his 11 starts in the competition.

He’s started this season in fine form with five goals and two assists across his seven appearances for Benfica in Liga Portugal this term. He netted a brace against Gil Vicente last time out to give Benfica a 2-1 victory so he enters this game with real momentum.

Pavlidis has scored five goals across his last five matches for Benfica in all competitions - this includes scoring against Qarabag in Benfica’s opening game of their Champions League campaign.

Pavlidis is one of the most reliable strikers in Europe and has scored 20+ goals in each of the last four seasons across his time with Benfica and AZ Alkmaar. Chelsea’s backline is a bit of a mess right now which will really encourage Pavlidis to extend his solid record in this competition over recent seasons.

Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last five matches across all competitions, conceding 2+ goals in three of these games. You’d expect Benfica to carve out chances here against a nervy backline with Pavlidis well poised to profit.

Estevao will be key to any chance Chelsea have of getting through the next two games against Benfica and Liverpool in the absence of Cole Palmer. Estevao has been bright when he has been given the opportunity to express himself by Enzo Maresca, though the Blues boss does keep limiting him a bit, bringing him off when he’s been Chelsea’s best player at times.

This is probably due to Maresca’s obsession with control in games, but Estevao gives Chelsea what they’re desperately crying out for at the moment - creativity and an ability to break the tedious mould which Chelsea can often find themselves in when missing their key players. Estevao averaged 2.37 fouls won per 90 across his 11 appearances in the Brazilian Serie A last season for Palmeiras and can cause Samuel Dahl quite a few problems here.

Dahl has committed five fouls across his seven appearances in Liga Portugal this season (0.85 per 90) which is a record that is bound to rise here given his opponent and the fact that Benfica are the away side in this contest. Estevao’s lucid dribbling ability should test Dahl on a few occasions and the Brazilian winger could find himself doubled up on with how Mourinho likes his wingers to track back.