Chelsea embark on their first continental adventure of the season as they travel to Geneva with the aim of booking their place in the 2024/25 Conference League.
The blues are in a good position in their tie against the Swiss Servette. While Enzo Maresca’s side struggled for much of last Thursday’s first leg in west London, second-half goals from Christopher Nkunku and the red-hot Noni Madueke put them 2-0 up in the return match.
Chelsea will also be buoyed by their emphatic 6-2 win over Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday. Madueke did it again when he scored a lightning-quick hat-trick in the second period.
napkins, The third most successful club in Switzerlandthey aim to make a resurgence at home to advance to the league stage. They gave Chelsea some things to think about in the first leg and Thursday’s hosts will feel they are not out of the draw, especially if the Blues are rattled by an early goal. Servette currently sit seventh in the Swiss Super League at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
here it is 90 minutes guide to Chelseathe trip to Switzerland.
Servette vs Chelsea head-to-head record (all matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
napkins |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
|
Chelsea 2-0 Servette – 22/08/24 |
Wolves 2-6 Chelsea – 25/08/24 |
|
Sign 1-7 Servette – 18/08/24 |
Chelsea 2-0 Servette – 22/08/24 |
|
Servette 1-2 Braga – 15/08/24 |
Chelsea 0-2 Man City – 18/08/24 |
|
Servette 0-6 Basel – 08/11/24 |
Chelsea 1-1 Inter – 08/11/24 |
|
Braga 0-0 Servette – 08/08/24 |
Real Madrid 2-1 Chelsea – 08/07/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
chelsea.com (subscription required) |
|
united states |
chelsea.com (subscription required) |
|
canada |
chelsea.com (subscription required) |
The aptly-named Victory Beniangba continues to struggle with a muscle injury that has kept him out of action at the start of the 2024/25 season and the forward is unlikely to play again on Thursday.
Although his side were beaten at Stamford Bridge, Servette was certainly not disgraced and manager Thomas Haberli could name a similar starting eleven for the reverse fixture.
Dereck Kutesa is likely to retain his place on the left flank despite speculation surrounding his future in Geneva.
Servette predicted the line-up against Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Frick; Tsunemoto, Rouiller, Severin, Mazikou; Douline, Ondoua; Stevanovic, Antunes, Kutesa; Crivelli
Maresca made nine changes to the team that was beaten by Manchester City for the first leg of this play-off and similar alterations are expected for the return leg in Geneva.
The Italian is still unable to call on injured captain Reece James, while midfield pairing Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo are unlikely to be risked as they both carry knocks. Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are not in the Maresca Conference League squad.
Kieran Dewsbury-Hall will push for a start in the middle of the park, as will new signings Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto.
Chelsea predicted line-up against Servette (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Gusto, Adarabiyo, Badiashile, Veiga; Fernandez, Dewsbury-Hall; Neto, Felix, Mudryk; Nkunku.
Chelsea were flat and uninspiring in the first leg with Maresca shuffling his personnel, but were merciless at Molineux on Sunday. Still, questions remain about the Blues’ defense.
The visitors are still not a team capable of controlling competitions away from home. Servette will have some joy with the ball and an early goal would completely change the complexion of the tie.
Chelsea have the talent to enter the league stage in relative comfort, but the hosts could make this a Premier League effort. It can be an uncomfortable evening for Maresca at times, but they will move forward.
