Chelsea take on the visitors Servette in the first leg of the final round of UEFA Conference League qualification. The match will be played on Thursday, August 22nd at Stamford Bridge (London).
Chelsea didn't play in European competitions at all last season. Having recently won the Champions League, they quickly declined after Abramovich was forced to sell the club. Even in the 2023/2024 season, despite hiring Mauricio Pochettino and bringing in a fresh batch of players, the improvement was minimal: only a 6th place finish, although it did allow them to return to the international stage. Boehly responded in his usual fashion by sacking the Argentine and luring the relatively inexperienced Maresca from Leicester. He also resumed spending on players, splashing £60 million on the young Pedro Neto and signing several unknown players, including a seventh goalkeeper, Jorgensen. At the same time, they didn’t sell Gallagher—how this aligns with "fair play" regulations is unclear—though he did leave today, effectively in exchange for the not-so-cheap João Félix. Without the Portuguese player, the team lost 2-0 to Manchester City with no real chance, although there were questions about whether Grealish handled the ball in his own penalty area.
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Servette remains among the best in Switzerland but is not even No. 1 there. The "Grenats" took a step back in the national championship last season. They couldn’t hold onto the runner-up spot, narrowly losing a tight race for second place to Lugano. However, they did defeat Lugano in the Swiss Cup final after a very long penalty shootout. That success allowed the team to enter the Europa League. But there they faced a tough opponent, Braga. After holding them to a scoreless draw in Portugal, they lost 2-1 at home to the "Archbishops," with their only goal coming in the final minutes. In the Swiss Championship, after starting with three wins, including one against Young Boys, the club then suffered two defeats.
This will be the first time the Swiss visit Stamford Bridge. It’s time for the English side to secure a win under their new coach in an official match. We recommend betting on their victory with a handicap of "-2 goals."
Prediction for the match: Chelsea to win with -2.0 handicap.
