Chelsea take on the visitors Djurgarden in the second leg of UEFA Conference League semifinals. First leg result: 4-1. The match will be played on Thursday, April 8th at Stamford Bridge (London).
Chelsea, despite heavy investment in their squad, only managed a 6th-place finish in the previous Premier League campaign. As a result, Pochettino lost his job after just a single season in charge. His replacement, Enzo Maresca, knows very well that his main task is to return the project to the Champions League — failure could cost him his post. The battle for the top spots is tight, and although fifth place might be enough this season, nothing is guaranteed yet. In Europe, Maresca clearly prioritized the Premier League and used the Conference League to rotate, giving opportunities to squad players like Mudryk. That approach paid off handsomely. Apart from the summer qualifying defeat to Servette and a loss to Legia in the quarterfinals, Chelsea won every other match. Even those two defeats came after they had secured comfortable advantages in the first legs — including last Thursday’s emphatic 4-1 away win.
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Djurgården have been a breakthrough side regardless of what happens next. The Blåränderna are, on one hand, undeniably a historic force in Swedish football, with multiple league and cup titles to their name. On the other hand, recent years have seen them slip from the spotlight — they’ve had to settle for 4th place in Allsvenskan in both 2023 and 2024. But that same league position earned them a spot in the UEFA Conference League. There, Djurgården exceeded all expectations — not only did they come through three rounds of qualifying, but they also won most of their group stage matches. Even in the knockout rounds, they proved resilient — eliminating Pafos and Rapid Vienna despite first-leg losses in both ties. Against Chelsea, however, their limits were exposed, and they managed only a consolation goal at home in a heavy defeat. Still, their run has been a huge success by Scandinavian standards.
The clubs met for the first time last week. With the tie already settled, both teams can play freely — expect plenty of goals. The total should go over 3.5.
Prediction for the match: Over 3.5 scored goals.
