UEFA Champions League Prediction: Chelsea – Pafos (21-01-2026)

Chelsea’s new coach Liam Rosenior will make his Champions League debut after only 4 years as professional manager and no similar experience like this. However, this game might be perfect as a first test, since the hosts are welcoming huge underdogs Pafos FC.

Chelsea finished the 2025 Champions League stage with a loss and now find themselves in an unwanted position as they are 13th. The Blues fell short in Italy with a 1-2 defeat against Bergamo Atalanta.

Now with two games remaining, they’ll likely need to finish with two wins for a guaranteed top 8 finish. However, the last fixture is another big test in Italy, this time versus Napoli, so the London side must demonstrate the best form of the season from now on.

Chelsea started the new calendar year with a promising 1-1 away draw against Manchester City, but later lost to Fulham 2-1 with 10 men on the field. Liam Rosenior made his official coaching debut just recently versus Arsenal in the EFL CUP with 2-3 loss versus Arsenal, which was heavily impacted by 2 howlers from the Blues keeper R.Sanchez.

Bottom side Pafos team created some big surprises already with a 1-0 win over Villarreal and 2-2 draw against Monaco, but failed to impress on the other occasions. With 6 points they are only in the 26th position, but still have chances to qualify further.

However, they are clearly a better home side, with the only away point coming from a 0-0 draw against Kairat Almaty, who still remain with that single point till now. The Cyprus champions still have Slavia Prague to play at home, but robbery in London would make their play-off dream even more realistic.

In his first few games in charge, L.Rosenior showed great attacking football despite the opposition. Chelsea became only the third team to fire 2 goals past Arsenal in this season and looking at their current Champions League position, the goal difference factor might play an important role, therefore, the Blues should hunt goals right from the start.

Pafos looked helpless against the top competition in Europe, getting trashed 5-1 by Bayern and failing to threaten Juventus 0-2.

Chelsea should look for a crushing win in this game, especially knowing how many eyes are on the new manager and the current poor table position, which might improve even more with a better goal difference, a result that reliable betting websites will likely favor.