Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has challenged his team to seal their Champions League progress on Tuesday night against Schalke 04.

The Group G leaders head to Germany knowing that a victory would put them in the last 16 of the competition with one game remaining in the group stage.

However, Mourinho is aware that a defeat tomorrow night could put unnecessary pressure on his side going into the final round of fixtures.

"We have so many matches in December so it's better if you can qualify and avoid that pressure," he told reporters. "Obviously that would be very good for us but the reality is that we need points and we will try and do that tomorrow.

"Going to the Europa League would be very bad, very bad for the team because a team gets better and the evolution gets faster when you play in the best competitions against the best teams."

Chelsea are currently three points clear of Schalke at the top of the standings thanks to two wins and two draws from their opening four games.