Chelsea meet Djurgarden in the second leg of their 2024-25 UEFA Conference League semi-final.
Anything other than defeat would see Chelsea advance to the final, whilst a loss would also be enough if lose by a two-goal margin at maximum.
Djurgarden simply must win by a four-goal margin if want to progress to the final, although a win by a three-goal margin would force extra-time and a potential penalty shootout.
Team News
Christopher Nkunku is still ruled out for Chelsea with a knock which forced him to miss their last two matches.
Wesley Fofana (muscle), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman (both hamstring) are still sidelined.
Romeo Lavia is ineligible after he wasn’t registered in the squad for this competition.
Djurgarden have no fresh injury concerns to report after their domestic 1-1 draw at home to AIK.
Malkolm Nilsson (elbow), Patric Aslund, Oskar Fallenius, Nino Zugelj, Rasmus Schuller, Piotr Johansson (all unspecified), Albin Ekdal, Zakaria Sawo and Matias Siltanen (all ineligible) will also be sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Djurgarden at Stamford Bridge on Thursday 8 May at 8pm BST, live on TNT Sports 3 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea won 4-1 in their only previous clash against Djurgarden in all UEFA competitions, which came away from home in the first leg of this tie.
- Djurgarden are making their first visit to Chelsea in all UEFA competitions.
- Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in six home games in this season’s competition (W5, L1).
- Marcus Danielson has been booked in each of Djurgarden’s last two away games (W1, L1).
Prediction
With a strong lead, Chelsea can afford to rotate their players ahead of a crucial league trip to Newcastle but their home defeat to Legia Warsaw surely will linger in Enzo Maresca’s minds, because if Djurgarden score first and can kick on with a second goal then this tie becomes more precarious for the Blues.
Djurgarden though will have to produce a much-improved performance if they want any chance of overturning their aggregate deficit, which is a tough ask against a team with such depth and quality so it is vital that they score first and kick on to find the second goal if want to put Chelsea on the rocks.
I however just can’t see that happening as Chelsea will of surely learned from the Legia Warsaw game and we should see a side similar to the line-up which thumped Liverpool last weekend domestically, in order to try and kill the game off before half-time then make any rotations.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Djurgarden
Result: Chelsea 1-0 Djurgarden (Chelsea win 5-1 on aggregate)
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