Chelsea take on FC Noah in the UEFA Conference League at Stamford Bridge on Thursday with Enzo Maresca’s hosts boasting two wins from two games so far. It is a huge clash for the Armenian visitors and arguably the biggest encounter in their fledgling history. For the Blues, Noah will be the lowest-ranked side that they will face in this League Phase of Europe’s third-tier competition. Heidenheim are debutants but play in the Bundesliga while the trip to face Astana in Kazakhstan has become increasingly familiar to continental sides of late.
Maresca is likely to rotate Chelsea’s starting XI from the Premier League given the registered roster differences so do not expect the same team that drew 1-1 with Manchester United to feature here. Also, with Arsenal coming up this weekend, the Blues’ key men will be saved for that one now that the Gunners are behind them in the EPL standings. With that in mind, peripheral figures should feature heavily in this one for the home side.
Noah were runners-up in the Armenian topflight last year and now face the two-time Champions League winners in a dream matchup. With four consecutive wins domestically, they are in good form despite the massive leap in standards between domestic and continental action. Vikingur and APOEL at home are more likely to be targeted for wins which could keep them in contention for an unexpected knockout round berth.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday, November 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge – London, England
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Chelsea -5000; Draw +1400; Noah +3500
League phase so far
Chelsea have seen off Gent and Panathinaikos so far with Maresca’s men hitting four goals in both of those victories to sit top thanks to their goal difference advantage. Although there are more than 10 games until the potential final, the Blues are strong favorites to reach Wroclaw and they could become the first club to win all four of UEFA’s major competitions — including the defunct Club Winners’ Cup. Noah are Europe’s youngest competitors this season and shocked many by progressing from the first qualifying round to this stage. Noah fell at the first hurdle twice previously but beat Shkendija home and away in round one and thrashed Sliema Wanderers 7-0 in the following round. Noah stunned Greek giants AEK Athens on aggregate after a 3-1 home win and saw off Ruzomberok in the playoffs. Away form is questionable with just a draw in Malta against Sliema and three consecutive losses since. An opening win over Mlada Boleslav was historic and has them in a knockout round place for now.
Team news
Chelsea: Cole Palmer took a knock to his knee but is not in Chelsea’s European squad so rests ahead of Arsenal this weekend while Pedro Neto’s cup form has moved him into the Premier League XI while Jadon Sancho has been ill although a start her could help to catch up in terms of fitness.
Possible Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Renato Veiga, Disasi, Badiashile, Cucurella; Enzo, Dewsbury-Hall; Sancho, Joao Felix, Mudryk; Nkunku.
Noah: Gudmundur Thorarinsson and Martin Gambos are injured while Goncalo Gregorio will be targeting a starting role given his fairly regular scoring form. Goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic was a heroic goal scorer against AEK and will likely be a key figure in this game with Chelsea expected to get plenty of sights on goal.
Possible Noah XI: Cancarevic; Mendoza, Goncalo Silva, Muradyan, Hambardzumyan; Eteki, Oulad Omar, Sangare; Helder Ferreira, Goncalo Gregorio, Pinson.
Prediction
This one should be easy enough for Chelsea and Noah would do well to score and avoid a heavy final result so a three-goal winning margin sounds about right. Pick: Chelsea 4, Noah 1.
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