Five straight wins and a goal difference of 21:4 tells the story of Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League campaign so far.There’s just one game left, scheduled for Thursday night at Stamford Bridge against Shamrock Rovers of the Republic of Ireland. Enzo Maresca’s side have already ensured qualification to the next round last week. The victory at Astana in Kazakhstan, with an extremely young starting line up, proved to be just what Maresca needed. He was able to rest his crucial players and stars like Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez, while maintaining good fighting spirit among the squad.##NAJAVA_MECA_8580178##Chelsea ignore -9C in Astana and secure fifth win in EuropeTonight, it’s time for this dead rubber against the sixth-placed Rovers, who have had a decent campaign with three victories and two draws, without a single defeat.That would be a proper challenge for another Maresca’s reshuffled starting XI, comprised of many prodigies that are coming through the club’s academy.During Wednesday’s press conference, the Italian hinted he would once again make wholesale changes to Chelsea’s team. As things stand, there will be only a few widely familiar names and only two experienced players to confront the visitors: Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix.Christopher Nkunku on IG 📸💙 pic.twitter.com/CD3qVfIFfY— Chelsea Photos (@ChelseaInPhotos) December 19, 2024 Nkunku has been a revelation in the Conference League thus far, making the most of his four appearances by scoring five goals and assisting once.The same applies to the Portuguese winger, as he scored five goals in the same number of games, using the Conference League to reinvent himself after a couple of seasons below expectations.UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE – ROUND 6Thursday 23.00: (1.48) Apoel Nicosia (4.30) Astana (7.00)23.00: (1.18) Betis (7.25) Helsinki (15.0)23.00: (3.50) Borac Banja Luka (2.25) Omonia (2.85)23.00: (1.37) Celje (5.10) TNS (7.75)23.00: (2.40) Cercle Brugge (3.40) Basaksehir (2.95)23.00: (1.10) Chelsea (11.0) Shamrock (18.0)23.00: (2.20) Djurgarden (3.45) Legia (3.25)23:00: (3.40) Guimaraes (3.20) Fiorentina (2.25)23.00: (1.35) Hearts (4.90) Petrocub (9.50)23.00: (1.67) Heidenheim (3.90) St.Galen (5.00)23.00: (2.15) Jagiellonia (3.40) Olimpija (3.40)23.00: (1.85) LASK (3.60) Vikingur (4.30)23.00: (19.0) Larne (7.75) Gent (1.15)23.00: (2.25) Lugano (3.40) Paphos (3.20)23.00: (1.67) Molde (4.00) M.Boleslav (4.90)23.00: (1.20) Panathinaikos (6.50) Dinamo Minsk (16.0)23.00: (2.70) Rapid (3.35) Copenhagen (2.60)23.00: (2.35) TSC Backa Topola (3.50) Noah (2.95)***odds are subject to change***
