Chelsea are in action at home to Gent tonight as they begin life in the Conference League proper.
The in-form Blues will undoubtedly be among the favourites to win Europe’s new-look third-tier competition this season, albeit it remains to be seen just how seriously new head coach Enzo Maresca takes it.
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Still, they only just scraped by Swiss side Servette in the play-off round and, such is the difference in resource between Chelsea and the rest of teams in the tournament, have the pressure of being heavy favourites for every game they’ll play.
Chelsea have made a brilliant start to the Maresca era in general, with Cole Palmer - who will be absent tonight - scoring four goals in the first half in Saturday’s thrashing of Brighton that left the Blues fourth in the Premier League table and just two points off top spot.
Gent, meanwhile, currently sit third in the Belgian top-flight after finishing seventh last term and beat all of Vikingur, Silkeborg and Partizan Belgrade to advance through to qualify for the Conference League.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Chelsea vs Gent is scheduled for a 7:45pm BST kick-off time today on Thursday October 3, 2024.
Stamford Bridge in west London will host the match.
Where to watch Chelsea vs Gent
TV channel: The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, with coverage beginning at 7:45pm - after the conclusion of Tottenham’s Europa League game against Ferencvaros in Hungary.
Live stream: Subscribers will also be able to watch on a live stream online via the Discovery+ app and website.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action tonight with Standard Sport’s live match blog, with Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Gent team news
Chelsea XI: Jorgensen, Disasi, Tosin, Badiashile, Veiga, Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall, Neto, Felix, Mudryk, Nkunku
Subs: Sanchez, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Dyer, George, Madueke, Guiu
Gent XI: Roef, Brown, Watanbe, Mitrovic, Torunarigha, Gambor, Fadiga, Delorge, Ito, Surdez, Gudjohnsen
Subs: Schmidt, Gandelman, Vancsa, Gerkens, Sonko, Samoise, Araujo, Dean, Kums, Fortuna, Varela, De Vlieger
Chelsea vs Gent prediction
Such is the strength of Maresca’s squad, anything less than a routine home win would be considered a real upset.
It would be no surprise to see 11 changes from the Blues and still boast a team with European experience.
Chelsea to win, 2-0.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
The two teams have never previously met in competitive action.
Chelsea vs Gent match odds
Chelsea to win: 1/5
Draw: 11/2
Gent to win: 14/1
