Lampard Ivanovic Torres Chelsea
Lamprd, Ivanovic and Torres take part in a training session for Chelsea ahead of their Champions League game at Steaua Bucharest, September 30Reuters

A 2-1 reverse against FC Basel on Jose Mourinho's Champions League return as Chelsea manager was not in the script.

A group that was thought to be one of the easiest among the English Premier League teams, has just become a little more trickier than expected following that loss.

Now Mourinho will have to rally his troops when they travel to Romania to take on Steaua Bucharest, the second team that they faced in the Europa League last year.

The first one, against Basel, did not quite go so well, and Mourinho will have a better script in mind when it comes the 90 minutes on the pitch on Tuesday.

Steaua Bucharest, who lost 3-0 at Schalke in their first match, beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Europa League last-16 first leg match last year, before Chelsea overcame the deficit in the second leg to advance.

However, this being the Champions League group stages, Mourinho cannot afford another slip up - or it just might be his last.

"We did not play well (against Basel) and lost, but we didn't deserve to lose," Mourinho insisted. "However, we didn't deserve to win as we did not play well. Steaua have showed that they can play at a high level and will be competitive in this group. They will fight for points and try to qualify for the next round.

"They are champions of their country, they have qualified for the Champions League group stage and are more experienced and motivated. For Chelsea, it's the same players but with a different manager. A new manager has to start things off again and normally it takes three months before the team is in top condition.

"It is good that my players lost here last year. They know why they lost, they know it is not going to be easy. In terms of concentration and motivation maybe we are one step ahead of where we were for last season's game, the players were taken a bit by surprise."

Team News: Mourinho stormed out of the press conference after he was repeatedly asked why he had decided to keep Kevin De Bruyne out of the squad, despite Eden Hazard being ruled out with an ankle injury.

The Portuguese, though, is expected to give Juan Mata a start after the Spaniard impressed after coming on in the second half against Tottenham.

"This is fantastic because no one asks me about Juan Mata. You have spoken about Mata for three weeks," a frustrated Mourinho said. "Now you're asking about Kevin.

"You are impressed in the players who are not playing. He was not selected. It was my decision. Only 11 can play and I tried to decide, by what they do on the pitch when they play and in training."

Steaua Bucharest have doubts over Mihai Pintili and Christian Tanase, but manager Laurentiu Reghecampf is hopeful the duo will recover in time.

Key Men: Steaua Bucharest: Cristian Tanase caused a few problems for Chelsea in their Europa League games last season, and the Blues are sure to keep a tight lid on the playmaker.

Chelsea: Oscar and Mata will have to find the right passes, with Bucharest likely to sit back and stay as compact as possible.

Where to watch

The match is scheduled for a 12.15 a.m. (IST, Wednesday) start with it set to be telecast live on Ten HD.

Expected lineups: Steaua Bucharest: Tatarusanu; Georgievski, Szukala, Gardoș, Latovlevici; Bourceanu, Filip; Iancu, Stanciu, Tanase; Piovaccari.

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry; Cole; Ramires, Lampard; Mata, Oscar, Schurrle; Torres.

Prediction: 3-0 to Chelsea