Chelsea vs. Schalke 04: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Chelsea will be looking to build on their excellent start to the domestic season with a victory in their first Champions League match, where they’ll face Schalke 04 at Stamford Bridge.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

The Blues are sitting pretty atop of the Premier League with four wins from their opening four games and they’ve already been tipped by many to mount a charge for both the league title and European Cup. And while Jose Mourinho’s men have been handed a favourable draw in the Champions League, a win here would set a strong precedent for a prosperous tournament.

Schalke represent Chelsea’s most likely challengers in Group G, and they’ll be keen to show their mettle following a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach in their last Bundesliga match. Here’s all the information you need on where to catch what’s a vital game for these sides via an online stream and on television.

Date: 17 September 2014

Time: 7:45 p.m. (BST), 2:45 p.m. (ET)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), Fox Soccer Go (US)

TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK), Fox Sports 2 (US)

After putting together a solid campaign last season—one that saw Schalke finish third in Germany’s top flight—there was plenty of expectation around the Veltins Arena ahead of the 2014/15 campaign. The club had managed to preserve a core of exciting young players, and some shrewd additions in the transfer market looked to have given this team a refreshed feel.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

But things haven’t quite gone to plan for the Ruhr club, who have taken just one point from their opening three games; the 4-1 defeat at the hands of Monchengladbach was as bad as a Schalke side have performed in recent years, as noted here by Bayern Munich media man Cristian Nyari:

The team boss Jens Keller is under increasing scrutiny, but German football pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft thinks he will get a chance to make an impression in the Champions League:

But when you consider the rich vein of form their Matchday 1 opponents are currently in, things could get pretty ugly for Schalke at Stamford Bridge.

So far this season, Mourinho’s side have been sensational. They’ve played with a vibrancy, a cohesiveness and with the swagger of a team that just doesn’t look as though they’re going to be beaten. And in Diego Costa—who’s scored seven goals in four games, per WhoScored.com—they have one of the hottest centre-forwards on the planet.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

When you consider how prolific the Spanish international striker has been and how flimsy the Schalke back line has started the season, Costa could easily run riot against the Germans. German football expert Lucas Swain thinks the former Atletico Madrid man could have a field day:

With Costa spearheading a multi-faceted and experienced side, the Blues look like one of the leading contenders for Champions League glory this season. Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp admitted he thinks that Chelsea are capable of going all the way, per PurelyFootball:

It’ll be interesting to see how Mourinho sets his side up for the club’s first European clash of the campaign and with a plethora of players looking to make an impression on the fringes of the squad, perhaps we’ll see some rotation from the Portuguese boss with a trip to Manchester City to come in Week 5 of the Premier League.

If Chelsea were to drop points here, with clashes against Sporting Lisbon and Maribor to come, they’ll easily be able to accrue enough points to progress as group winners. But even if Mourinho does chose to rotate his squad for the visit of Die Konigsblauen, Chelsea should have more than enough in the tank to ease to three points.

Schalke could cause Chelsea problems at the back, and with the likes of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Julian Draxler and Sidney Sam among their ranks, Keller has some attacking options of genuine quality to call upon. But if they can’t get their defence in order—and the early suggestions from this campaign suggest that it isn’t—then that’ll count for little against the much more illustrious sides.

So expect another professional performance from Mourinho’s men, as they begin their march towards the club’s second ever European Cup triumph.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Schalke 04