Chelsea wrap up the Europa Conference League with a visit from Shamrock Rovers on Thursday evening.
The Blues have already qualified for the last 16 of the competition after last week Wins 3-1 against Astana of Kazakhstanbut they will be keen to maintain their perfect league stage record and finish top on Thursday.
Chelsea are the only team to have won all five of their games in the league stage and done so in one competition, despite making sweeping changes to their starting line-up in each game. Enzo Maresca will have a much-changed 11th on Thursday in what should be his eighth straight win in all competitions.
Irish side Shamrock Rovers remain unbeaten in the league stage but can only guarantee direct passage to the last 16 with victory on Thursday. They are assured of a place in the play-offs, however, after three wins and two draws.
Here it is 90 minutes guide to Chelseathe last European match of the year.
Chelsea vs Shamrock Rovers H2H Record
This is the first competitive match between Chelsea and Shamrock Rovers.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Chelsea |
Shamrock Rovers |
|---|---|
|
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15/12/25 |
Shamrock Rovers 3-0 Borac Banja Luka – 12/12/24 |
|
Astana 1-3 Chelsea – 12/12/24 |
Rapid Wien 1-1 Shamrock Rovers – 28/11/24 |
|
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 08/12/24 |
Shamrock Rovers 2-1 TNS – 07/11/24 |
|
Southampton 1-5 Chelsea – 04/12/24 |
Shamrock Rovers 2-1 Waterford – 01/11/24 |
|
Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa – 01/12/24 |
Dundalk 0-1 Shamrock Rovers – 27/10/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, discover+, discover+ app |
|
United States |
Paramount+, ViX |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Mykhailo Mudryk will be absent for the match on Thursday next recently failed a drug test. The Ukrainian, who has been regular in Conference Leaguehas been suspended from football and could face a lengthy ban.
Wesley Fofana and Reece James are still missing with hamstring injuries, although the former has not been included in Chelsea's league stage squad. That also goes for Cole Palmer, who will earn a midweek rest.
Benoit Badiashile missed the weekend win through injury and Maresca has yet to clarify how long he will be sidelined, while Marc Cucurella is available on Thursday despite receiving a red card against Brentford. He will miss Chelsea's Premier League clash with Everton next weekend.
Many of those who started Chelsea's 2-1 win over Brentford on Sunday will not feature against Shamrock Rovers. Maresca is likely to rotate most of his starting 11 and again give opportunities to younger and younger players.
Chelsea predicted formation against Shamrock Rovers (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Disasi, Cucurella; Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall; George, Nkunku, Felix; Boy.
Shamrock Rovers ended their league season at the start of November and suffered disappointment on the final day as Shelbourne beat them to the title. However, they have not allowed any rust to affect their European performances, with two wins and a draw in the Conference League since then.
Chelsea will be a completely different proposition to Stephen Bradley's side and they will be huge underdogs on Thursday. They have a few players who could cause problems for the Blues, however, including 21-year-old star Johnny Kenny, who has scored five goals in as many league stage games.
Shamrock Rovers predicted line-up against Chelsea (3-5-2): Pohls; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Honohan, O'Neil, Poom, Watts, Burns; Farrugia, Kenny.
Chelsea have eased into the league stage and should have no trouble maintaining their perfect record on Thursday night. Rovers have proved a strong team for some of the competition's smaller entrants, but a trip to Stamford Bridge should be very daunting.
The Blues will make sweeping changes to their starting line-up, but several first-team players are likely to earn losses to keep them fresh. That could spell trouble for Rovers, who have only played a handful of games over the past two months.