Chelsea’s preperations are almost done for the Conference League quarter-final first leg against Legia Warsaw in Poland.
Enzo Maresca will no doubt be now feeling the pressure to deliver in a competition where Chelsea are seen as the outright favourites for the competition.
With huge Premier League fixtures coming thick and fast, there will be some conundrum’s when it comes to his team selection for both legs of their tie against Legia.
A number of fringe players will be in line for minutes, and there really should be a start for Tyrique George after he was snubbed for any minutes in the draw against Brentford at the weekend.
The European fixtures earlier this season were a great opportunity for Maresca to get a look at a number of his fringe players, however the likes of Joao Felix and Renato Veiga are no longer at the club.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall talks about ‘added incentive’ for Chelsea players in Conference League
Another player who will be hoping to start is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who made just his second Premier League start in the West London derby on Sunday as the manager rotated his side.
Joe Cole was impressed by Dewsbury-Hall in the last round of the competition. The midfielder scored the only goal of the second leg that saw the Blues cruise through against Copenhagen.
The Englishman has claimed that there is an added incentive amongst the current players to write themselves into the history of the club, with the opportunity being there to become the first side ever to win every European major tournament.
He said to TNT Sports: “Any trophy at any level is a fantastic achievement. It’s not easy to win trophies, everybody knows that.
“It will be the first time a club in the history of Europe [has] won every single European competition, so that’s an added incentive for us.
“The lads are making sure that everything’s in the right place and making sure that nobody can stop us trying to achieve our goal. [We’re] very hungry.”
Chelsea’s target for 24/25
Whether Chelsea end up in the Champions League places or Conference League winners this season, Maresca is likely to remain in charge of the club going into next season.
Maresca is seen as ‘untouchable’ at the club at this stage, however it was reported earlier in the campaign that the target was to finish in the top four.
Given five Premier League sides will qualify for the Champions League, the aim just got a bit easier, but the Blues are under immense pressure from sides around them to deliver.
While they won’t gain this from the Conference League, continuing the winning feeling is an invaluable piece of momentum that will help them as they prepare to face Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge.
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