The Blues begin back-to-back games against famous Dutch opposition with a trip to Amsterdam, and our preview of Wednesday evening's game begins today...

Chelsea vs Ajax - head to head record

Chelsea and Ajax have never met before in European competition although we have played each other six times in non-competitive pre-season matches.

Ajax’s biggest home win in the Champions League

02/11/2011 Ajax 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb Group stage

Chelsea’s biggest away win in the Champions League

20/10/1999 Galatasaray 0-5 Chelsea First group stage25/11/2014 Schalke 0-5 Chelsea Group stage

Chelsea are unbeaten in four previous European games with Dutch sides (two wins, two draws), winning twice against Feyenoord in the 1999/00 Champions League second group stage and drawing two knockout games goalless against DWS Amsterdam in the 1968/69 Fairs Cup, going out after losing a coin toss.Although we have never played Ajax in European competition before, we played at their stadium against Benfica in the 2013 Europa League final.

Chelsea's European record

Chelsea are hoping for a sixth successive win in all competitions for the first time since September 2018.

Chelsea are looking to win consecutive away Champions League matches for the first time since October 2013, when we beat Steaua Bucharest and Schalke.Chelsea have won four of our past five away group games in the Champions League, scoring 12 and conceding five.Against Lille, Tammy Abraham became Chelsea’s first English scorer in the Champions League since Gary Cahill in November 2015; only three Englishmen have done so in consecutive games for the club – Frank Lampard (five times), John Terry (three times) and Dennis Wise (twice).

Frank Lampard has handed five Englishmen aged 21 or younger their Champions League debuts for Chelsea in just two games this season (Mount, Abraham, Tomori, James, Hudson-Odoi) – the most by a team in a single season in the competition’s history.Chelsea have lost one of our last 17 games in Europe (13 wins, three draws) in a run that includes winning the Europa League last season. Our only defeat was on matchday one of this Champions League campaign at home to Valencia.The Blues are unbeaten in a club-record eight European away matches since losing 3-0 to Barcelona at Camp Nou in March 2018 in a Champions League tie (six wins, two draws).

Milestones

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta is due to make his 350th appearance for Chelsea and will join five other overseas players to reach that milestone: Petr Cech 494, Didier Drogba 381, Branislav Ivanovic 377, John Mikel Obi 372 and Eden Hazard 352.

Ajax statistics

Last seasonEredivisie - firstKNVB Cup  - winnersChampions League - semi-finalsTop scorer all competitions: Dusan Tadic 38 (in 56 appearances)Average home league attendance: 52,987

Champions of the Netherlands for the 34th time in 2018/19 – their first league title since 2014 – Ajax also lifted the Dutch Cup to claim their eighth domestic double, and a first since 2002.

Ajax lost only two of their 18 European matches in 2018/19 (10 wins, six draws), when they became the first side in European Cup history to reach the semi-finals having come through three qualifying rounds. They were the first Dutch club to reach the Champions League last-four since PSV Eindhoven in 2004/05.Chelsea are aiming to avoid becoming the seventh English side Ajax have defeated in European competition, having previously beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.Ajax have won one of their five UEFA fixtures at home to London sides (one draw, three defeats) – The win was the first of those matches, a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal in the 1971/72 European Cup quarter-final.Ajax have won one of their four home Champions League games against English teams (one win, one draw, two defeats), winning 3-1 against Man City in October 2012 – in their most recent game. They surrendered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 against Tottenham in last season’s semi-final.Ajax haven’t won a third consecutive Champions League matches since November 2005. In that run under manager Danny Blind they beat Thun twice and Sparta Prague.Ajax have been defeated only twice in their past 15 Champions League matches but have won just one of their past five home matches in the competition - against Lille on matchday one.

Ajax could win their opening three matches of a Champions League campaign for the first time since 1995/96, when they ultimately finished as runners-up.They are on an unbeaten run of 19 matches in all competitions since Tottenham were victorious in Amsterdam in the semi-final of the Champions League in May. They have won 15 and drawn four since then.Ajax have picked up 26 points from their first 10 Eredivisie fixtures and currently top the division, three points ahead of PSV and Vitesse.They kicked off this season's Champions League in the third qualifying round, seeing off Greek side PAOK 5-4 on aggregate. A goalless draw at APOEL in the first leg of the play-offs ended Ajax's run of scoring in 14 successive European matches, but a 2-0 home win booked their group return.

Team v Valencia: 4-2-3-1 Onana; Dest, Veltman, Blind, Tagliafico; Alvarez, Martinez; Ziyech (Huntelaar 85), Van de Beek (De Jong 88), Promes (Neres 81); Tadic (c).Booked Veltman, Tagliafico, Martinez, Onana, Promes, Blind

MAJOR SUMMER TRANSFERS

In: Quincy Promes (Sevilla), Edson Alvarez (Club America), Razvan Marin (Standar Liege).Out: Grenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Lasse Schone (Genoa), Kasper Dolberg (Nice).

Discipline

There are no suspensions

In the Champions League, three yellow cards will result in a one-match suspension in the competition.Booking listAjax: Onana 2, Blind 1, Martinez 1, Promes, Tagliafico, VeltmanChelsea: Giroud 1, James 1, Jorginho 1

Ajax vs Chelsea referee and VAR

Referee Ovidiu Haţegan and his assistants are from Romania.

VAR Szymon Marciniak is from Poland.