Chelsea travel to Poland later today as the Blues look to get off to a winning start in their Conference League quarter-final clash against Legia Warsaw.
Wins in both legs saw Chelsea beat Copenhagen 3-1 on aggregate in the last round of the Conference League, setting up the quarter-final clash with Legia Warsaw who beat Norwegian side Molde 4-3 on aggregate. The Blues are the major favourites to win the Conference League, though many may have been left confused by Enzo Maresca's rotation in the 0-0 draw against Brentford on the weekend, with Chelsea still in a fight for one of the five Champions League spots in the Premier League.
So, could Chelsea take a winning advantage back to Stamford Bridge? Let's take a look.
Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea Europa League score predicted
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the hosts could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Tobiasz; Wszolek, Kapuadi, Pankov, Vinagre; Elitim, Augustyniak, Kapustka; Chodyna, Luquinhas, Morishita.
We predict that the Blues could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Jorgensen; Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall; Madueke, Palmer, George; Nkunku.
Chelsea dominated possession in the first half in Poland, but the Blues were unable to trouble the hosts, with Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer both missing the target from great positions. The game was very stop-start with both sides committing multiple fouls, and just after the restart, Maresca's side was handed a blow when Malu Gusto was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
In the 74th minute, things went from bad to worse for Chelsea as they were reduced to nine men, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall being shown red for a dangerous challenge in midfield. It was an awful scenario for Chelsea, but they managed to hold on, and in the 89th minute, the Blues managed to score to snatch the victory late on.
Despite the two red cards, Chelsea were still the more dominant side, and after patiently passing the ball around the Warsaw box, a smart pass from Enzo Fernandez picked out the run of Nkunku. The striker let the ball run across his body before blasting a shot towards goal, and his effort flew into the roof of the net at the near post to hand the Blues a huge advantage in the quarter-final clash.
EA FC 25 predicted final score: Legia Warsaw 0-1 Chelsea
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel
Want to keep up to date with the breaking and important Chelsea stories whilst on the move? Well now you can!
Click this link to follow the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel, where you'll be kept up to date on the latest Blues news wherever you are.
Just remember to turn on the notifications once you've followed, and you won't miss a beat!
