Pundit Chris Sutton has claimed in his Mail Online predictions that Thomas Tuchel could be in trouble if Chelsea don’t beat Dinamo Zagreb tonight.
The Blues are preparing for their Champions League curtain raiser in Croatia, with the potential tricky test awaiting them of the country’s domestic champions.
Thomas Tuchel is likely to look to his squad in order to freshen things up, with it already being reported Thiago Silva has not travelled with the Blues for the trip.
The game looks the perfect opportunity for the likes of Armando Broja to be handed a start, with many frustrated already that he hasn’t been given that opportunity up to now.
Despite being offered the chance to rotate, the game undoubtedly holds a lot of importance to the club, with Sutton claiming Tuchel could be in trouble if they don’t come away with all three points.
Tuchel in trouble if Blues don’t win
He said: “You only need to look at Chelsea’s Premier League form to know how patchy they’ve been this season: win, draw, loss, win, loss, win. You can’t be competitive that way. Todd Boehly may be new to football, but even he knows that’s not how you win trophies.
“Thomas Tuchel is desperate to see some consistency and looking at this opening group game, Chelsea should be beating Champions League qualifiers Dinamo Zagreb.
“They are the perennial Croatian champions but they spent a total of £5million in the summer. Chelsea spent £271m, the most of any Premier League club, so they must win on Tuesday night. Otherwise the pressure on Tuchel will ramp up.”
With fixtures now stacking up, the Blues will need to begin to put some form together in order to maintain a challenge on all four fronts.
Despite the importance, maintaining happiness among the camp is crucial for Tuchel, and this fixtures offers that opportunity.