The Irish side are unbeaten so far in sixth place in the league phase, with three wins and two draws from their five games but they will face a step up in competition when they face Enzo Maresca’s multi-million pound cup side, who will be the first Chelsea team to face an Irish team in a competitive game.
Stephen Bradley’s side will be full of confidence with the knowledge that they have qualified for the next round but will look to put up a challenge to Chelsea, who have been perfect in the competition so far, firmly cementing themselves as the favourites to lift the trophy in May.
3,000 Irish fans are expected to descend on London and Bradley and his side will be looking to give them something to cheer about.
Here’s all you need to know about another massive night for Irish football.
When and where is it?
The match is Thursday, December 19 at Stamford Bridge with an 8pm kick-off.
How can I watch?
The game will be live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage starting from 7.30pm.
Form
Shamrock Rovers have shown no signs of rust since the season finished , going unbeaten in Europe, including a well earned draw against Rapid Vienna in their last away game, followed by a 3-0 win over Bosnian side Borac, with in-form Johnny Kenny grabbing three goals in those two games.
Chelsea are second in the Premier League, but their European side have been stellar so far as well. Maresca’s side made light work of Astana last time out with a 3-1 victory in a freezing cold Kazakhstan.
With 11 points from a possible 15 after five games and a place in February’s play-off for the Last 16 secured, the Tallaght side can really go and enjoy the occasion in SW6 tomorrow. Although they clearly won’t treat it as a free hit, as a point in London would hand Rovers an outside chance of automatic qualification for the Last 16, there is a sense of relief that the hard work is behind them.
Team news
The Blues could welcome back Joao Felix and Romeo Lavia after they missed the Brentford game. Benoit Badiashile is injured, while Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell have been struggling with illness.
Mykhailo Mudryk would have been a guaranteed starter against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night, but is now not allowed to play or train with his club following yesterday’s news that an “adverse finding” was discovered in a routine urine test.
There are no new injury worries of note for Shamrock Rovers with joint-top goal scorer in the competition Kenny expected to lead the line.
The 21-year-old is targeting a first-team breakthrough at Celtic in January but before returning to his parent club he’s hoping to finish his loan spell at Shamrock Rovers on a high with a goal against the Blues tomorrow.
“Everyone came through the Borac game ok, the usual one or two knocks which is normal,” Bradley said. "But everyone is ready to go, which is a good headache for me.”
Rory Gaffney and Aaron McEneff remain unavailable as they recover from injury.