Chelsea enter tonight’s crunch 7.45pm Champions League Group H match against Juventus at Stamford Bridge with the odds heavily stacked against them.
Having failed to beat Juventus in their last four attempts (two draws and two defeats), Chelsea lost the last two matches against the Italians - 3-0 in 2012 and 1-0 in the reverse tie earlier this season.
Furthermore, the Blues’ last 10 matches against Italian opposition in the Champions League have seen them win only once, while losing six times and drawing three.
Daai is nie al nie. Log leaders Juventus are on a five-match winning streak - joint-best in the competition with Bayern Munich.
Still, Chelsea’s “Captain America” Christian Pulisic has challenged his teammates to take their game to the next level and book their place in the Champions League last 16 in this match.
The defending champions need just a point to advance.
And after beating Leicester 3-0 last weekend, Pulisic says: “We have some confidence going into that. We had a tough match against them last time so we want to go and have a good result at home.”
Pulisic, who recently returned from an ankle injury, played only his fourth game for his club side this season on Saturday, coming on as a second-half substitute to cap the scoring at the King Power Stadium.
And with competition for places in coach Thomas Thomas Tuchel’s team as fierce as ever, he is hoping to make a similar impact if he gets his kans.
He adds: “It is a massive strength, we’ve seen that the whole season.
“We have a really impressive team, a lot of good players.
“One guy is out, the next guy steps up and we've continued to do that. We're looking really strong at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Juve boss Max Allegri told his players to send a message and win with a victory at the Bridge.
He says: “It’s an important game… we’ll play to win the group.”