class=”article_teaser__2t5do”>Northern Ireland hosts the UEFA Super Cup for the first time this week and the fixture should provide plenty of entertainment as it usually does
Chelsea and Villarreal meet in Belfast on Wednesday evening as the winners of the Champions League face the Europa League holders in the UEFA Super Cup.
The traditional curtain raiser to the European season takes place at Windsor Park this year and Thomas Tuchel’s side are overwhelming favourites against their La Liga opponents.
Back in May, Unai Emery’s men overcame Manchester United on penalties to lift the first piece of European silverware in their history and, while Chelsea have contested the UEFA Super Cup in four previous years, this will be Villarreal’s first appearance in the fixture.
Chelsea vs Villarreal latest odds
Chelsea’s only previous UEFA Super Cup success came back in 1998 when they defeated Spanish opposition in the form of Real Madrid, and while on that occasion they were clear outsiders, on Wednesday they are well fancied.
Chelsea are offered at 3/4 (1.75) by bet365 to win in 90 minutes and at 2/5 (1.40) to lift the trophy.
Villarreal for their part are available at 15/4 (4.75) to win without extra time and at 2/1 (3.00) to triumph.
TV channel, live stream & how to watch
BT Sport 1 BT Sport app
The game is being shown live on BT Sport 1 in the United Kingdom (UK). The BT Sport app will be streaming the game live online.
Chelsea vs Villarreal team news
Last week saw the Blues’ international stars from Brazil, Italy and England return to training with Thiago Silva, Emerson, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James coming back from their respective summer breaks.
All six players are in the squad for Wednesday’s game although without any pre-season minutes it remains to be seen how much any of them can feature.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Davide Zappacosta, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Trevor Chalobah have all been left out of the squad.
Villarreal are missing midfielder Dani Parejo who is out with a calf injury.
His absence is a real blow for Unai Emery, with the former Valencia man playing more minutes in La Liga than any outfield player in the squad last term.
Chelsea vs Villarreal preview
In recent years the UEFA Super Cup has proved to be an exciting and open match, and Wednesday night’s clash should be another entertaining encounter.
The Yellow Submarine may be outsiders, but their last two European matches have seen them overcome English opposition in both Arsenal and Manchester United, and Unai Emery’s side are unlikely to be overawed.
Villarreal were the fourth top scorers in La Liga last season behind Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, while in the Europa League they netted in 14 of the 15 matches they contested.
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Chelsea, too, were regular scorers in the Champions League last term, failing to find the back of the net just twice in 13 games, and with the UEFA Super Cup having a history of seeing plenty of goals, there should be plenty of interest in opposing either side to keep a clean sheet.
Chelsea vs Villarreal tips & predictions
Both teams to score has paid out in eight of the last nine UEFA Super Cups and a repeat is offered at the healthy-looking price of 19/20 (1.95) .
Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.