Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon are playing live on the Champions League Group Stage football schedule on Tuesday and the matchup is from Estadio Jose Alvalade with TV coverage from FOX Sports 2 and the live stream from the Fox Soccer 2Go website as Jose Mourinho leads his team on a mid-week trip as the first place club in the English Premier League and he may play his real lineup with Diego Costa.
Last season Chelsea finished in the top three in the Premier League ahead of Arsenal and behind Liverpool and Manchester City and now they are on top. Chelsea had their moments late last season before falling back, but now they are in first place on the league table and they have been the highest scoring team in the league. The team had a draw in the opening game with Schalke and they also pulled a draw with Manchester City before their win against Aston Villa.
Coming up the team has games against Manchester United and Arsenal and the team also has Maribor for their next group match after playing QPR. The best managers find ways to balance playing their best players throughout the various competitions during the year and Mourinho feels that this match is important and that Costa can handle playing.
Chelsea has a nice lead right now in the Premier League with 16 points and they have scored the most goals in the league as well. Mourinho has handled his changes very well this season and the addition of Costa has also been a big boost for the team and he should be able to make an impact on Tuesday. Mourinho said he realizes that it's a risk to play Costa, but he feels that this match is important and other players that will be out forced him to bring him in. Sporting opened with a draw and so did Chelsea and now they have the chance to make an impact on the road away from Stamford Bridge.
Costa was a sub for the last match and now he will be looking to start off well and Loic Remy has the chance to make an impact too. Nani comes in and could start against Chelsea and that is a big deal for the team and they will have to keep an eye on him after his on loan signing with the team. He scored the goal for the team in the draw and now he will have some focus, while Costa will have the main focus on Chelsea and he has already made an impact on the team.
Chelsea is one of the early favorites in the English Premier League and while they have gotten off to a good start, this has happened before. The team played very well last season before losing out to Man City and they will try to remain in the top four for as long as possible and especially in that top spot. The team has some tough matches coming up and they also have a tough group in the Champions League.
Check here for the Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon live coverage.