NK Maribor vs. Chelsea, Champions League: Team news, TV & streaming information, preview

Slovenia isn't exactly a destination that has helped Chelsea collect too many frequent flier miles over the years, but for the second time in just three months, the Blues are back in the picturesque land of the Slovenes.  Famous Slovenes of course include disgustingly talented hockey player Anže Kopitar, the one and only Grand Admiral in the history of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Anton Haus, Źeljko "I only play sneaky bad dudes and government functionaries" Ivanek, and Donald Trump's latest wife.

Having set the bar so high a fortnight ago -- our highest margin of victory in the Champions League -- this reverse fixture could actually turn out to be far trickier than expected.  Or it could turn into another laugher.  As usual, it'll probably depend on who, if anyone, gets the early goal and whether Chelsea can kill off the game early.  Stop me if you've heard any of those story-lines before.

Actually, I'll just stop myself.  Let's get this done, get to 10 points to all but ensure our place in the first knockout round of the Champions League, and move on to the weekend's big clash.

Date / Time: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 19:45 GMT; 2:45pm EST; 1:15am IST

Venue: Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia

Referee: Daniele Orsato - the theme of getting relatively inexperienced referees continues with the 38-year-old Italian, for whom this match will be his first involvement in this season's Champions League.  Last time we saw him, we lost 2-1 to FC Basel at Stamford Bridge, while he also refereed our 1-0 win against Sparta Prague in the ultimately trophy-winning (and hopefully one and only) Europa League campaign.

Forecast: Seasonably cool but dry in the foothills of the Julian Alps

On TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK); Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports regional networks (USA); none (India); elsewhere

Online: Sky Go (UK); Fox Soccer 2Go (USA); TEN Sports LIVE (India)

NK Maribor Team News: What we found out two weeks ago was that Maribor aren't especially great.  That has probably not changed, especially considering that they only have three wins in their last nine in all competitions.  Since we last saw them, they've won twice and lost once, all by 1-0 scorelines.

Chelsea Team News: The tight 2-1 win over QPR means that Chelsea remain unbeaten on the season in all competitions.  And while we'll face Maribor without the services of Loïc Rémy (expected out until after the next international break) and John Obi Mikel (exact prognosis unknown), we should expect that streak to continue.  With Diego Costa back to full(ish?) fitness, there are no real surprises among the 22 players who traveled.  Should the situation permit, it would be nice to see Lewis Baker get a turn however.

Previously: You can never watch highlights of a 6-0 win too often.