Chelsea boss Antonio Conte insists that Wednesday's Champions League clash against Qarabag will be his side's most important game of the season so far, as he stressed the importance of qualifying with a game to spare.

The Pensioners are on the brink of securing a place in the round of 16 and a win in Azerbaijan will ensure that they do so.




The last time Conte's team faced Qarabag they managed to outclass the Azerbaijanis 6-0 and the Italian manager will be hoping for a repeat of the same when they face Gurban Gurbanov's team.

And therefore the 48-year-old insists that Wednesday's game will the most important one Chelsea will be playing so far this season and one they have no option but to win.
 


"We have to play the most important game of the season from the start until now", Conte told his club's official website.  

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"If we are able to win against Qarabag, we can go through to the next round of the Champions League and this is very important because this period from now until January is very busy, so it is very important to win the game."

Conte also took time to warn his players against taking the match lightly because the minnows from Azerbaijan have shown their class by holding Atletico Madrid twice and narrowly losing to Roma in September.

"For sure it won’t be easy because in the last two games they drew twice against Atletico Madrid, and before that they lost the game but Roma were struggling a lot to win against them so it is very important to be focused, to work and to try to win the game."