Chelsea travel to Portugal to take on Sporting Lisbon in their second Champions League Group G fixture at the Estádio José Alvalade on Tuesday.
The Blues will be itching to record their first win in the Champions League following their 1-1 draw against German side Schalke in their opening fixture.
The Blues have been doing very well in the Premier League, winning five out of their opening six fixtures.
Their overall goal tally has also improved as they have netted 19 goals in the Premier League -- seven better than Manchester City and Everton's tally this season.
The main force behind Chelsea's improved performance this season is undoubtedly Diego Costa, who has already netted eight goals from six appearances.
His absence during the Blues' clash against Schalke was clearly visible as Chelsea failed to score goals despite creating a lot of chances in the match.
Due to this reason, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Costa will be starting against Sporting, despite the Spain striker still not being fully fit.
The former Atletico Madrid striker is still suffering from a nagging hamstring problem that he picked up while playing for Spain in the international break a few weeks ago.
Many were expecting Mourinho to bench Costa against Sporting so that he would be well rested before Chelsea's crucial derby clash against Arsenal on Sunday
But, the manager says that he hopes to play Costa against Sporting as well as Arsenal.
"Diego starts," Mourinho told Chelsea's official website. "Hopefully he plays again on Sunday, against Arsenal, but at the moment I don't think about Arsenal, I think about Sporting and Diego starts tomorrow."
Despite admitting that he is taking a risk by playing Costa in the Champions League, Mourinho insists that he has no choice but to field his best players to try and get a positive result in Portugal.
"There is a risk, yes, but he plays," Mourinho added. "We assume the risk and he plays. Hopefully everything goes well and hopefully from Tuesday to Sunday he has enough period of time to be back on track and play against Arsenal.
"It's an important game for us tomorrow, a difficult game. If I can play my best players and the team I think is the best team to try to get us a result, I'm not going to make any changes. That also gives me some players on the bench with the quality to help me, which can help me change the direction of the game. We are ready for another fight."
Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon will also be searching for their first win in the Champions League following their 1-1 draw against Maribor in their opening fixture.
Sporting, who last played in the Champions League in the 2008/09 season, did well to qualify for the knockout stages that season despite being placed in a relatively tough group alongside Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel. However, they were completely humiliated when Bayern Munich recorded a crushing 12-1 (aggregate) win over them in the round of sixteen.
This season the Portuguese side will again be targeting a place in the knockout stages even though they have been placed in an equally challenging Group G alongside Chelsea, Schalke and Maribor.
However, Sporting will be first focusing on the task at hand as they prepare to face Chelsea on Tuesday.
Despite admitting that Chelsea will prove to be a very formidable opponent on Tuesday, Sporting boss Marco Silva insists that his side look to get a positive result in their second Champions League fixture.
"Chelsea are favourites, not only to win the group but also to be in the final together with four or five others. It will be a match with a very high level of difficulty but with our quality and the right attitude we can challenge for the points here," Silva told UEFA's official website.
The Sporting boss, who feels that his side will benefit from playing against a big club like Chelsea, added that they will not be altering their natural game plan when they host the Blues on Tuesday.
"We are facing a very strong opponent," he added. "It will be a challenge for Sporting. It is a big boost for the club and the fans to play at home against such a big club, one that has a Portuguese coach. But we will not change our identity because of it. We have our weapons."
Expected lineups: Chelsea: Petr Čech; Branislav Ivanović, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Filipe Luis; Nemanja Matić, Cesc Fàbregas; Willian, Oscar, Eden Hazard; Diego Costa.
Sporting Lisbon: Rui Patrício; Cédric Soares, Maurício, Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr, Jonathan Silva; William Carvalho, Adrien Silva, João Mário; Andre Carrillo, Nani, Islam Slimani.
Where to Watch Live
The game is set for a 7.45 pm BST (12.15 am IST) start with live coverage on Ten HD in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Ten Sports Live. Catch the action in the UK on Sky Sports 5 and Sky Sports 5 HD and NOW TV, with the option to live stream the match online on Sky Sports Online or Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch the Champions League game on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Soccer Plus, with an option to live stream on FoxSoccer2Go. Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the action via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on Supersport online.
