Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways and reach the UEFA Europa Conference League final when they welcome Djurgardens IF to Stamford Bridge for the semi-final second leg on Thursday night. Enzo Maresca has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, and Marc Guiu are the only players on the sidelines for the home side. In addition, Mykhailo Mudryk continues to serve his suspension after failing a doping test a few months ago.
However, Guiu is closing in on returning from his hamstring injury and should be back before the 2024/25 season ends. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided a fitness update on Guiu. The Italian tactician also suggested he would name his “best XI” on Thursday.
The Chelsea manager said, “We don’t have any new injuries. This is good for us. Everyone is fit and Marc Guiu could even be involved in tomorrow’s squad. We are not sure yet, we will make a decision on him, but he is getting closer.”
“Maybe it’s better for Marc to have a few more days of training, but he is very close to being back with us. That will be very good news for us and for Marc. Tomorrow is the game. That is our focus. For sure, 48 hours after tomorrow, to then play at 12pm on Sunday is not ideal and there is not a lot of time to recover.”
The Chelsea boss continued, “It is a European competition that we are going to try to win. The next step is to reach the final, but first we must try to do our job tomorrow. If you remember the second game at home against Warsaw, we started with Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer. It was a strong team. We try in every game to start with the best XI, so we will start tomorrow with the best XI for us in this game.”
Filip Jorgensen will replace Robert Sanchez between the sticks, with the home side lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him against Djurgardens on Thursday. The backline should feature Josh Acheampong, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Malo Gusto.
As for the midfield unit, Reece James should marshal the troops in the middle of the park, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Mathis Amougou lining up alongside him. Finally, Shim Mheuka will lead the line for the home side against Djurgardens IF, with Tyrique George and Jadon Sancho completing the numbers in the offensive trifecta.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Badiashile, Adarabioyo, Gusto; James, Amougou, Dewsbury-Hall; Sancho, Mheuka, George
