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Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Swiss side Servette in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
The Italian lost his first competitive match in charge of the Blues last week, falling to a 2-0 defeat to defending champions Manchester City, but his side put in a spirited display and will feel unlucky not to have gone home with a point.
And Chelsea will know they can put one foot in the competition’s group stages with a commanding win at home, with Maresca likely to make several changes ahead of the Blues’ trip to Wolves at the weekend.
New signings such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu and Pedro Neto could be given their first starts, while it remains to be seen whether Maresca will welcome back Raheem Sterling after the latter’s statement before the match against City.
Geneva-based Servette fell to Portuguese side Braga in the Europa League qualifiers, so they will likely be a straightforward opponent for Chelsea, but the Blues will need to keep their wits about them with plenty of noise still surrounding the club.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game.
When is Chelsea vs Servette?
Chelsea vs Servette kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday 22 August at Stamford Bridge in London.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports. Subscribers will also be able to watch via the Discovery+ app and website.
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Team News
Reece James remains out injured, and he could be joined by Marc Cucurella, who went down towards the end of Chelsea’s loss against City with what originally looked like cramp.
Players like Filip Jorgensen, Pedro Neto, Tosin Adarabioyo, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Guiu are potential candidates to make their first starts for the club, with Enzo Maresca likely to rest players ahead of the Blues’ trip to Wolves on Sunday.
It remains to be seen whether Raheem Sterling will make the squad amidst the fallout from a statement released by his representatives before the match against City.
Servette are fresh off the back of a 7-1 Swiss Cup win against Signal, with new signing Julian Von Moos scoring a hattrick that should ensure his starting place against Chelsea.
Former France youth international Enzo Crivelli could start up-front with Von Moos, while French journeyman David Douline should anchor the midfield alongside Cameroon’s Gaël Ondoua.
Predicted lineups
Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Gusto, Badiashile, Tosin, Veiga; Lavia, Dewsbury-Hall; Neto, Nkunku, Mudryk; Guiu.
Servette XI: Frick; Tsunemoto, Rouiller, Severin, Mazikou; Douline, Ondoua; Magnin, Antunes, Von Moos; Crivelli.
Odds
Chelsea 1/10
Draw 5/1
Servette 11/1
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Prediction
Servette were dumped out of Europa League qualification by Portuguese side Braga, and in truth both sides are far below the level of Chelsea, even if Maresca’ side are still finding their feet. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of side the Italian puts out with Wolves coming up on Sunday, but even if he rests the majority of first team players, Chelsea will have enough quality to put one foot in the group stages. Chelsea 3-0 Servette.
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