Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are looking to continue their flawless streak in the Europa Conference League as they travel to Kazakhstan on Thursday afternoon to face FC Astana in the continent’s third tier competition.
Last time out, Maresca and his entourage secured a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Bundesliga outfit Heidenheim, courtesy of Cristopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk, to keep them atop of the standings.
The west Londoners, who currently sit second in the Premier League, are facing 23rd-placed Astana, whose sole focus will be to secure passage into the next round of the competition. This is how GIVEMESPORT expects both sides to line up for the clash.
Chelsea Team News
Youngster in line for first senior start
Josh-Kofi Acheampong of Chelsea gestures during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur
As expected, by virtue of his bloated squad, the former Leicester City boss is on course to heavily rotate his side in typical fashion for Thursday night clashes. Young defender Josh Acheampong, who was recently dropped until he signed a new deal, is in line to break his senior duck.
From a defensive perspective, Maresca will continue to be without Reece James and Wesley Fofana – both are expected to be sidelined until the turn of the year. Elsewhere, midfielder Cesare Casadei is unable to play and is, in fact, suspended after his red card against Heidenheim.
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The club's reliable source of goals, Cole Palmer, is also not in the travelling squad for the league phase, so he will get some rest ahead of their all-London clash against Brentford on Sunday. Romeo Lavia is also ineligible to play.
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'The mentality is to go to the next stage and then the next one'Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided an update on his squad rotation and his aspirations of winning silverware in his maiden campaign.
"Some of them are going to be here and some of them will fly with us. More or less, we will try and manage in the same way we have done. We have many young players, 17 with us, and the rest will be here working."
He continued: "The mentality is to go to the next stage and then the next one. When we achieve the next one, the target is to get to the next one. I don't like to think four or five months ahead. It's because in my opinion, if we think in four or five months ahead, you can lose the focus a little bit."
Chelsea Predicted XI
Rak-Sakyi and Dewsbury-Hall the chosen midfield pair
Chelsea Predicted XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Tosin, Disasi, Viega; Dewsbury-Hall, Rak-Sakyi; George, Chukwuemeka, Neto; Guiu.
Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Bergstrom (GK), Merrick (GK), Olise (DEF), Wilson (DEF), Murray-Campbell (DEF), Dyer (MID), McMahon (MID), Vale (FWD), Mheuka (FWD), Ampah (FWD).
Between the sticks and ready to brave the cold is likely to be Filip Jorgensen, considering how well he played against the aforementioned Germans. Acheampong is set to be handed his first start alongside Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga in the back line. Marc Guiu could provide the firepower through the middle with him being flanked by Tyrique George and Pedro Neto. Richard Olise, brother of Bayern Munich star Michael, could get some minutes off the bench.
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Astana Team News
Kazakh top flight side have played one game in the last month
For the Astana Arena-based outfit, who beat Manchester United 2-1 the last time they faced an English side, there is little worry in their camp over who they are able to field given the Kazakhstan Premier League having concluded in mid-November.
Grigori Babayan’s side lost out to Kairat in the title race by a single point and, as a result, they will be looking to make an account for themselves against such a European force in the Blues.
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The Blues face a gruelling and frosty trip to Kazakhstan on Thursday night in their penultimate league phase game in the Europa Conference League.
Since the conclusion of their domestic proceedings, the home side have played one game in the last month: a 1-1 home draw with Vitoria de Guimaraes in this very competition. According to reports, they have no players either injured or out for suspension, which means they'll be able to field their strongest XI.
Astana Predicted XI
Babayan's men to remain unchanged from 1-1 draw with Vitoria
babayan
Astana Predicted XI: Condric; Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Kalacia, Vorogovskiy; Ebong, Amanovic; Tomasov, Gripshi, Camara; Chinedu.
Astana Predicted Substitutes: Zarutskiy (GK), Seysen (GK), Marochkin (DEF), Dosmagamebtov (DEF), Brystov (DEF), Kuat (MID), Osei (MID), McMahon (MID), Karimov (FWD), Zhaksylyk (FWD), Astanov (FWD), Ahanonu (FWD), Basmanov (FWD).
As alluded to, Astana's 2024 is already done and dusted. From a European perspective, they have struggled for goals in the Conference League and are unlikely to cause the Blues too many problems on their travels. The seasoned pairing of Aleksa Amanovic and Max Ebong, however, could provide resistance for Chelsea's midfielders in the middle of the park.
Nigerian striker Geoffrey Chinedu, too, is perhaps Astana's standout star. He's not only notched 12 goals in 18 appearances for the club since joining in the summer, but his workhorse-like mentality could thrive against a heavily rotated, and less experienced, back line chosen by Maresca and his entourage.