Chelseavs.Copenhagen

The winners of this contest on aggregate will face either Molde or Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals.

Match preview

After winning all six of their League Phase fixtures, Chelsea preserved their perfect record in the Conference League with a slender first-leg win over Copenhagen in the last 16, courtesy of goals from Reece James and Enzo Fernandez in Denmark.

Enzo Maresca rued the "sloppy" goal conceded towards the end of the match to give Copenhagen hope of a comeback, but the Italian was pleased to see his Chelsea side keep a clean sheet in their narrow 1-0 Premier League win at home to Leicester City last Sunday, with Marc Cucurella netting the only goal of a game in which Cole Palmer missed his first-ever penalty.

Chelsea have now put together a three-game winning run in all competitions, with consecutive Premier League victories moving the Champions League-chasing Blues back into the top four, albeit only two points above Manchester City in fifth and seven points clear of Fulham in 10th with 10 games left to play.

Before locking horns with Arsenal on Sunday in their final match before the international break, Chelsea will endeavour to finish the job against Copenhagen and progress to the quarter-finals of a major UEFA competition for the 15th time in their history.

The West Londoners will welcome a return to Stamford Bridge where they have already won four games out of four in the Conference League (including qualifiers) by an aggregate score of 19-3, while they have only been beaten once on home soil in all competitions since a 2-0 defeat to Man City on the opening weekend of the Premier League season (W14 D4) - losing 2-1 to Fulham on Boxing Day.

Copenhagen must overturn a one-goal deficit against Chelsea if they wish to avoid a repeat of their last-16 exit in their previous Conference League appearance in 2021-22, with head coach Jacob Neestrup admitting his side "need to do everything we can to create a little miracle".

The Danish giants have already come from behind to win a Conference League knockout tie this season, as they overturned a one-goal deficit to beat Heidenheim 4-3 on aggregate in the playoff round, winning the second leg 3-1 away from home after taking the tie to extra time just under a month ago.

Indeed, Copenhagen have impressed on the road in the Conference League since the competition was formed four seasons ago, winning nine, drawing four and losing just one of their 14 away matches (including qualifiers), scoring two or more goals on nine occasions.

Neestrup's men are out to create history on Thursday, as no Danish team has ever beaten Chelsea (D2 L5), while Copenhagen have never come out on top away against an English opponent, with their two historical triumphs against English opposition - both against Manchester United - taking place in the Danish capital (D5 L11).

Copenhagen travel to London having experienced a recent patchy run of form overall in all competitions, winning just two of their last seven games in 90 minutes. They have most recently drawn back-to-back Danish Superliga matches with AaB (0-0) and SonderjyskE (1-1), and two points dropped against the latter last weekend has seen them surrender top spot to FC Midtjylland.

Chelsea Conference League form:

W

W

W

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W

Chelsea form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

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W

Copenhagen Conference League form:

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L

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L

Copenhagen form (all competitions):

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D

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D

Team News

Chelsea quartet Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu (all hamstring) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspended) all remain sidelined, while James (illness) and Malo Gusto (ankle) will be assessed after missing the win over Leicester.

Although Maresca revealed after last weekend's game that Palmer had been feeling unwell in the days leading up to kickoff, the playmaker should be fit to start on Thursday in an advanced midfield role, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyrique George will be pushing for a recall after starting in the first leg.

At the age of just 17 years and 137 days, Shumaira Mheuka became the youngest player to start for Chelsea in a major European competition last week and he may get the nod once again to lead the line ahead of Christopher Nkunku, who is also an option to play on either flank.

As for Copenhagen, Andreas Cornelius, Lukas Lerager, Oliver Hojer (all unspecified), Nicolai Boilesen (knee) and Kevin Diks (ankle) all remain in the treatment room, while Thursday's game will come too soon for Roony Bardghji who his closing in on a return from a long-term ACL injury.

Thomas Delaney (illness) is a doubt and will be assessed ahead of kickoff, while Marcos Lopez is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards and is likely to be replaced at left-back or left wing-back by Birger Meling.

Gabriel Pereira scored in the first leg and will continue in the heart of defence, while 18-year-old Amin Chiakha could once again be tasked with starting up front, with Viktor Claesson and Elias Achouri providing support in attack.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Chalobah, Tosin, Badiashile, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; George, Palmer, Nkunku; Mheuka

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Ramaj; Gocholeishvili, Garananga, Pereira, Chatzidiakos, Meling; Clem, Froholdt; Claesson, Chiakha, Achouri

We say: Chelsea 3-1 Copenhagen (Chelsea to win 5-2 on aggregate)

Copenhagen are no pushovers for Chelsea and they may cause a potentially weakened Blues outfit a few problems in the final third on Thursday. However, Maresca's men will still be regarded as favourites to come out on top, both in the second leg and on aggregate, and they should ultimately have enough to outscore their Danish counterparts once again.

Written by

Oliver Thomas

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