Chelsea will continue their quest to win the Conference League when they travel to Sweden for Thursday’s semi-final first leg against Djurgardens IF.
The Premier League club saw off Legia Warsaw to seal their semi-final spot, while the hosts booked their place in the last four with an extra-time win over Rapid Vienna.
Match preview
Djurgarden have already made history in this season’s Conference League, having reached a European final for the first time in their history.
They collected 13 points from six matches to finish in fifth place in the Conference League, before they recorded a 3-1 aggregate victory in their last-16 clash against Pafos.
Djurgarden went the distance in their first European quarter-final in 69 years, beating Rapid Vienna 2-1 in regulation time of the away leg to level the tie following a 1-0 defeat in Sweden.
Tobias Gulliksen went on to net a brace in stoppage time to send his team into the semi-finals, keeping Djurgarden’s hopes alive of becoming the first Swedish team to win a European trophy since Goteborg won the UEFA Cup in 1987.
Jani Honkavaara‘s side followed their successful trip to Australia with a goalless league draw against GAIS, before they returned to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory in their most recent outing against Oster on April 24.
Djurgarden will be fully aware that they will be massive underdogs for their last-four tie against Chelsea, but having won six of their eight European home matches this season (L2), they may believe they can spring a surprise in Thursday’s first leg.
Chelsea are competing in their first European semi-final since winning the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2020-21.
They had lost two UEFA quarter-finals since that triumphant campaign, but they managed to avoid another last-eight exit in their recent tie against Polish side Legia Warsaw.
Enzo Maresca‘s charges cruised to a 3-0 victory in Poland, and while they suffered their first Conference League home defeat in the return fixture at Stamford Bridge, the 2-1 scoreline was not enough to overturn the first-leg deficit as Chelsea advanced to their 15th semi-final in UEFA competition.
While the Conference League represents Chelsea’s only route to winning a trophy this season, they are currently in a fierce battle to secure Champions League qualification for next season, with the Blues sitting just inside the top five on goal difference after securing back-to-back Premier League victories.
Tyrique George and Pedro Neto scored late goals to fire Chelsea to a 2-1 victory over West London neighbours Fulham, before Nicolas Jackson netted the decisive goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Everton, extending their unbeaten Premier League run to five matches (W3, D2).
The Blues will continue their top-five bid in Sunday’s home meeting with Liverpool, but first, they will look to negotiate Thursday’s first leg in Sweden, where Chelsea have avoided defeat in each of their previous four visits in European competition (W2, D2).
The visitors can also take confidence from the fact that they have won each of their previous five away games in the Conference League, scoring 14 goals and conceding on just three occasions during that period.
Team News
The hosts are expected to be without the injured trio of Malkolm Nilsson Safqvist, Rasmus Schuller and Patric Aslund.
Oskar Fallenius and Nino Zugelj are also at risk of missing the first leg., having sat out the last two matches since they were forced off in the second leg against Rapid Vienna.
Goalkeeper Jacob Rinne should return to the starting XI after missing the league win over Oster due to illness.
There could be a few other changes made to the side that started Djurgarden’s most recent outing, with Jacob Une Larsson, Hampus Findell and Tokmac Nguen all set to come into Thursday’s lineup.
As for Chelsea, Maresca will be unable to call upon the injured trio of Wesley Fofana, Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu, while Mykhaylo Mudryk remains provisionally suspended after he tested positive for a banned substance last year.
Full-back Malo Gusto is in a race against time to prove his fitness for the first leg after sitting out the recent win over Everton with a minor injury issue.
With Chelsea balancing domestic and European commitments, Maresca is likely to make several changes to the team that started at the weekend, which could see starting opportunities given to Filip Jorgensen, Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile.
Reece James, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jadon Sancho and George are also in contention to start Thursday’s first leg in Sweden.
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Rinne; Stahl, Une Larsson, Danielson, Kosugi; Stensson, Findell; Harala, Gulliksen, Nguen; Priske
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Cucurella; James, Dewsbury-Hall; George, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
We say: Djurgardens IF 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea will travel to Sweden in a positive mood after claiming back-to-back victories, and having won each of their last five European matches, we think the visitors will claim a relatively comfortable victory to establish a healthy lead ahead of the second leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
