Chelsea face Astana in Kazakhstan in just under an hour, and the teams are in!
We expected maximum changes and we got them – 10 changes come from the weekend’s win over Spurs, with only Pedro Neto retained.
The winger picked up a yellow card in that game which will mean he is suspended this weekend, so he gets a run out here to keep him fresh. Apart from that it’s a crazy mix of youth and reserves.
Standard B team goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is in goal – it could be a long night for him given how cold it is, and how little he might be called into action.
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A Chelsea flag waves at Stamford Bridge.
A Chelsea flag in the evening at Stamford Bridge.
A group photo of Chelsea celebrating a goal at Leicester. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Ahead of him, Josh Acheampong plays at right back, ending his long freeze-out from action at any level.
In the middle of defence, Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi form a pretty solid block for the team to hopefully build from. Renato Veiga reprises his usual role as a left back who can invert into midfield.
Ahead of that is where things get really interesting. The midfielder has Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall alongside Carney Chukwuemeka (making his first start of the season) and 19 year old Samuel Rak-Sakyi.
Up front, Tyrique George and Neto flank Marc Guiu who leads the line.
Here are the full team line-ups for Astana vs Chelsea (kick off at 15:30 GMT)
CHELSEA:
Your Blues in Kazakhstan. 🔵#CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/D4P9OTg8rV
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 12, 2024
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A Chelsea flag waves at Stamford Bridge.
A Chelsea flag in the evening at Stamford Bridge.
A group photo of Chelsea celebrating a goal at Leicester. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
A sample London to Astana trip.
A sample London to Astana trip.
The most important thing from this game,, basically, is to get in and out of Kazakhstan and their time zone without any injuries and with a minimum of disruption to our schedule. The team will only be in the country for less than 24 hours.
This is as long a journey as you can take in European football – but this was always on the cards when we entered the Conference League, and it’ll soon be behind us. Then the focus can turn to Brentford on Sunday.