Chelsea vs. Juventus: Live Stream Info and Predictions for Champions Clash

Chelsea begins the defense of its Champions League title on Wednesday when the London club hosts Italian champions Juventus at Stamford Bridge.

This will be a difficult match for the Blues because Juventus doesn't give up goals easily, and has one of the most talented groups of midfielders in Europe led by Andrea Pirlo.

Chelsea's European title last season almost didn't happen because the squad barely advanced past the group stage. Luckily for manager Roberto Di Matteo, he has a stronger, and deeper squad coming into this campaign.

Both clubs are capable of lifting the European Cup at Wembley Stadium in May, so this should be a fantastic match.

When: Wednesday, September 19 at 2:45 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox Soccer

Live Stream: FoxSoccer2Go

Where: Stamford Bridge, London, England

Predictions

Best Player: Eden Hazard

Without Didier Drogba to score the clutch goals in Champions League competition, Chelsea will need a new player to rise to the occasion in these types of games.

One candidate is new signing Eden Hazard, who has quickly adapted to the Premier League after arriving from Ligue 1 club Lille in the summer.

The Juventus defense is strong and physical, so it's important that Hazard uses his pace to create shots on goal for himself and his teammates.

He should have a huge impact on this match for Chelsea. Expect Hazard to score the only goal for the Blues on Wednesday.

Goalkeepers Will Decide the Outcome

Both goalkeepers in this match have the ability to save their squad from a poor performance, so they will be under immense pressure to play well for 90 minutes.

We saw in the Champions League final in May how valuable Petr Cech is to Chelsea, especially against penalty kicks. Gianluigi Buffon is equally as valuable to Juventus, and is a main reason why their defensive record is so strong.

Expect many world-class saves from these men in this match, so even if there isn't a lot of scoring, this game will still be exciting to watch.

These are two of the best goalkeepers in the world, and will be expected to keep a clean sheet, and give their squads a good start to the Champions League.

Score Prediction

With two defensive squads who don't want to take chances and risk allowing the only goal of the match, expect a conservative approach by both clubs.

Hopefully we see a goal early in the match so one side is forced to gamble a bit more on the attack. If these clubs surprise us, and play aggressively on the attack, we could see a wonderful match because Chelsea and Juventus each have several talented goal scorers.

Nobody wants to see a scoreless draw, but it's definitely a possible outcome of this match. However, I believe each team will score once, and take one point to start group play.

1-1 Draw

Follow @NicholasGoss35