CHELSEA LOOK FOR SOLACE IN EUROPE

Chelsea will host Maccabi Tel Aviv in its Champions League Group G opener on Wednesday, needing a win to take some pressure off manager Jose Mourinho.

The Blues have lost three of its opening five games — the latest a 3-1 loss to Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday — and is languishing in 17th spot in the domestic competition.

Only four months ago, he was lifting the Premier League title at Stamford Bridge for the third time as Chelsea cruised to its fourth championship, eight points ahead of runner-up Manchester City. Now, the Blues already trail Manuel Pellegrini’s side by 11.

Owner Roman Abramovich runs the club discreetly but he is impatient for success and a dispute with Mourinho was a factor in his departure the first time around in 2007.

So when the Blues take on the Israeli club,  Chelsea is expected to win comfortably and anything other than an assured display will only heighten the pressure on Mourinho.

Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were cornerstones of Chelsea’s premier league-winning team but their low performance levels so far this season have been a contributing factor to the club’s woeful start.

Mourinho could be tempted to rotate his team, with Loic Remy in attack and Brazil international Oscar pushing to replace Hazard. With a clash against fierce London rival Arsenal on Saturday, it is important for Chelsea to quickly return to winning ways.

Porto, which Mourinho led to the Champions League title in 2004, take on and Dynamo Kiev in other group game.

Iker Casillas has played 152 games in Europe’s top club competition in a Real Madrid shirt. His 153rd appearance will be in FC Porto’s colors.

The 34-year-old Spain goalkeepermoved to Portugal in the summer. He has conceded two goals in four Portuguese league games so far and Porto shares top spot. However Porto’s coach Julen Lopetegui will serve a touchline ban when they travel to the Ukrainian capital.

Barca travel to Rome

ROME: When Lionel Messi and Barcelona open their Champions League title defense at Roma on Wednesday, the Giallorossi will be eager to show they can no longer be pushed around by European powers.

“Barcelona is an immense club, the defending champion, they’ve won their first three Liga matches, but there’s no point in saying great things about this squad,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia said.

Roma has had a strong start to Serie A, beating last season’s Champions League runner-up Juventus 2-1, and showing strong potential with an impressive array of new players in Edin Dzeko, Iago Falque, Mohamed Salah, and Wojciech Szczesny. But Garcia will be without key playmaker Miralem Pjanic due to a right calf strain.

Bayer Leverkusen hosts BATE Borisov in the other Group E match.

Lionel Messi is set to make his 100th appearance in the Champions League and look to add to his record 77 goals in the competition — a mark he shares with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona is without Dani Alves.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich begins the quest for its sixth European Cup at Olympiakos on Wednesday, while Arsenal opens its 18th successive Champions League campaign at Dinamo Zagreb.

Dinamo, back in the competition after a two-year absence, is on a 41-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. The Croatian champion has never previously qualified from the group stage in four previous attempts.

Bayern, the 2013 champion, is also hoping to go at least one stage further after semifinal exits the past two seasons.

Pep Guardiola’s tenure as Bayern coach will be judged on success in Europe this season, likely his last with the Bavarian club.

After taking over Jupp Heynckes’ treble winning side in 2013, Guardiola has enjoyed overwhelming Bundesliga success while crashing out in successive seasons to eventual champions in the Champions League semifinals. Last May’s 5-3 aggregate loss to Barcelona was at least an improvement on the 5-0 defeat to Real Madrid the previous year.

Now in the final year of his contract, with no indication yet of whether he will extend, Guardiola is under pressure to lead Bayern to its sixth European title in his third attempt.

Wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are ruled out through injury, while attacking midfielder Mario Goetze should have overcome a muscle strain that kept him out of action Saturday.

ARSENAL’S STRIKING ISSUE

London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger came under intense scrutiny from the English media for not signing a striker in the summer transfer window, with doubts about Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud’s ability to consistently deliver at the highest level and Danny Welbeck out until Christmas with a knee injury.

But Walcott and Giroud vindicated Wenger on Saturday, each finding the back of the net against Stoke to lead Arsenal to a 2-0 win, its first at home this season.