Tune in at 2:45 PM ET as Chelsea takes on Shakhtar Donesk. Jack Goodson will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
Preamble: Welcome to The Score's ongoing coverage of the UEFA Champions League. Today we have the reigning champions of this competition, Chelsea, hosting Urkanian juggernaut Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge in Group E.
This is a pivotal match for Chelsea. They were dominated by Shakhtar in the Ukraine a fortnight ago - the 2-1 scoreline does little to suggest just how lopsided that match was - and face a tricky path to qualification. Anything but a win today, coupled with the likely win by Juventus against Nordsjælland, and Chelsea are staring at third place in the group.
Team Sheets
Chelsea (4-2-3-1)
1-Petr Cech, 2-Branislav Ivanovic, 4-David Luiz, 24-Gary Cahill, 34-Ryan Bertrand; 7-Ramires, 12-John Obi Mikel; 10-Juan Mata, 11-Oscar, 17-Eden Hazard; 9-Fernando Torres. Bench: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Marin, Sturridge, Terry, Azpilicueta.
Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1)
30-Andriy Pyatov; 33-Darijo Srna, 5-Olexandr Kucher, 44-Yaroslav Rakytskiy, 26-Razvan Rat; 7-Fernandinho, 3-Tomas Hubschman; 22-Henrik Mkhitaryan, 10-Willian, 29-Alex Teixeira, 9-Luiz Adriano. Bench: Kanibolotskiy, Stepanenko, Eduardo, Shevchuk, Douglas Costa, Chygrynskiy, Ilsinho.
Team news: Chelsea draft in Ryan Bertrand to replace the injured Ashley Cole. David Luiz and Juan Mata are also recalled, while John Terry is rested with a view to this weekend's Premier League fixture against Liverpool. It's a risky proposition from manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Shakhtar, meanwhile, name the same XI that defeated Chelsea two weeks ago.
Stat of the day: Shakhtar have won 18 of the 19 matches they've played this season, the only blemish a 1-1 draw against Juventus in Turin on Oct. 2. Dare I say this side is on fire?
1min: And we're off at Stamford Bridge. Shakhtar, in orange shirts with black shorts, get us underway moving from left to right.
1min: A sloppy start from Chelsea here. Bertrand concedes a corner kick with a very poor backpass toward Luiz. The corner, from Teixeia, is nervously cleared by the hosts in the center of the penalty area.
2min: More sloppiness, this time from Luiz, results in a Shakhtar free kick about 30 yards from goal almost straight away.
3min: Rakitskiy takes the free kick, curling a low one-hopper straight into the clutches of Cech. Chelsea have not settled at all thus far.
4min: Now, Chelsea have something on which to build. The hosts win a pair of free kicks in quick succession, the last of which is about 30 yards from goal near the center of the pitch. Luiz is standing over this one.
4min: Luiz does indeed take the kick, side-footing an effort through the wall that bounces up in front of the goalkeeper. Pyatov does manage to claim but only after allowing the ball to bounce off his chest. He's lucky to claim that on the second attempt.
GOAL, 6min - Chelsea 1-0 Shakhtar: Oh my. This time, an error by the Shakhtar defense costs the visitors massively.
6min: A loose back pass from Rakitskiy to Pyatov forced the goalkeeper to punt quickly as Torres was chasing him down. That punt never made it up field, though. Torres managed to get his right boot onto the punt and the deflection flew straight into the open net. Can you believe it?
8min: This match is ridiculously open. It's end to end at the moment, with Torres breaking free down the inside-right channel and forcing Pyatov into a decent save at his right - this just seconds after Shakhtar forced the Chelsea backline to scramble clear the ball in their own penalty box.
GOAL, 9min - Chelsea 1-1 Shakhtar: What was I saying about this game being open?
9min: Fernandinho was the key piece to Shakhtar's opening goal, breaking on his own down the right side of the box, past two Chelsea players, before pulling the ball back low into the area for the late-arriving Willian. The Brazilian, who Chelsea were interested in signing last January and this summer, did the rest with a low shot through a crowd that trickled under an unsighted Cech.
12min: So, it didn't take Shakhtar long to get level following that egregious defensive mistake. Chelsea, though full of attacking potency, have been supremely vulnerable at the back this season.
12min: Srna earns another corner for Shakthar. Srna delivers the set piece, and Ramires is forced to concede another corner ahead of Adriano.
13min: The second corner of the move is just about cleared by Chelsea, though Shakhtar retain possession and eventually win yet another corner. This one nearly results in a second goal, too, with Hubschman looping a first-time shot wide of an open net after Cech had fumbled the initial delivery, which deflected off Bertrand, back into play.
15min: What an odd game this has been thus far. Just wild.
15min: No one closed down Fernandinho, who was stationed on the left of the attacking third. What to do then? Well, the midfielder decided to drive a rasping shot toward the near post that forced Cech to palm away on the stretch. Chelsea do not look particularly good here.
16min: Torres looks pretty good, though. He received the ball with his back to goal on the right side of the box and produced a sublime dummy to absolutely skin Rakitskiy. Now in space on the left, Torres had a chance to pick out Hazard to his right but instead attempted to score from a tight angle. The shot, as you would expect, ended up in the side netting.
18min: If you're in front of a television, and have access to this match, I suggest you tune in. This has been enthralling so far and you can bet there are more goals in this.
19min: Torres attempts to play a back-heel into the path of Oscar in the center of the box, but the pass was blocked. No matter, Torres escorts the ball out of play for a corner. Chelsea, in turn, take the corner quickly, but Mata's whipped cross toward Luiz is cut out.
21min: And yet more fluid play from the visitors. Adriano wins a header above Luiz, knocking the ball back to Mkhitaryan, who lashed his first-time shot from 20 yards well wide of the far post. He really should have done better with that chance.
22min: Not to be outdone, Chelsea offer their own fluid attacking move. Torres, Hazard and Mikel exchanges incisive passes, only for Mikel's final ball toward Hazard, who was advancing on the right of the box, was a tad heavy.
26min: Chelsea enjoy their first prolonged spell of possession of the match. This spell doesn't result in much, however, as an ambitious pass toward Torres is unable to find the target.
27min: Teixeira is offside after splitting the two Chelsea central defenders.
28min: In the other Group E match, Juventus lead Nordsjælland 2-0 after 30 minutes.
29min: Now it's Shakhtar's turn to enjoy some possession. Of course, just as I say that Chelsea win the ball back through Ivanovic.
Preamble: Welcome to The Score's ongoing coverage of the UEFA Champions League. Today we have the reigning champions of this competition, Chelsea, hosting Urkanian juggernaut Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge in Group E.
