Servette vs Chelsea: Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

After winning the first leg at Stamford Bridge last week, Chelsea will face Servette in Thursday's return match in Switzerland for their Europa Conference League playoff encounter. Chelsea will be aiming to seal the deal.

After a 2-0 win at home in their previous meeting, the West Londoners take a two-goal lead into their match at Stade de Geneve.

Previous Matches and head-to-head

With goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke in the second half, Chelsea won the first leg 2-0. They are now a member of the newly expanded 2024-25 Conference League, returning to Europe after a season away.

Substitute Madueke scored a beautiful goal after Nkunku's calm penalty conversion; three days later, on Sunday, he scored a magnificent hat trick—his first in his professional career—in a 6-2 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolves leveled the scores in the first half, but Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea scored three goals each in the second half, and new acquisition Joao Felix scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

After the match, an enthusiastic Enzo Maresca—now without a goal in the Premier League—admitted that Chelsea's offensive performance in the second half indicated their future style of play. The Italian manager also emphasized that he needs more time to develop his players and assemble a championship-caliber squad for the Blues.

A draw against Servette would be enough to advance them on an aggregate and guarantee their spot in Friday's Conference League draw, even though Chelsea has past three away games, including two from last season.

Although Servette had seven more shots and twice as many corners as Chelsea in last week's first leg, they were unable to convert any of them into goals. For the second year in a row, they will now face a difficult road to the Conference League.

Even though he knows it will be "quite a lot" to come back from a two-goal deficit against a Chelsea team of Chelsea's caliber, head coach Thomas Haberli has not given up hope of achieving a massive upset in Geneva despite his team's wasted chances at Stamford Bridge, especially in the second half.

Because they did not play in the Swiss domestic competition last weekend, Servette—who finished third in the Swiss Super League and won the Swiss Cup last season—will have had a full week to recuperate and be ready for the second leg on Thursday.

The Maroons have struggled to succeed recently, winning just one of their last six matches across all competitions. Their home record includes a 6-0 thrashing by Basel in the top division and a 2-1 loss to Braga in the Europa League third qualifying round, both in the second leg.

Before their first-leg match against Chelsea, Servette had faced just two English teams in European competition. In the 1971–72 Cup Winners' Cup, they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Liverpool despite winning the first leg 2-1. In the UEFA Cup three years later, they lost 6-2 on aggregate to Derby Country.

Chelsea x Servette Team News

While captain Reece James is still nursing a hamstring injury, Chelsea will be without Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, and Raheem Sterling for their Conference League match.

Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall might join arms in the center of the pitch if Moises Caicedo (knock) and Romeo Lavia (hamstring) are both questionable for the match. Caicedo was substituted against Wolves following a violent collision.

Many players are vying for recalls to Maresca's starting eleven, including Filip Jorgensen, Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Pedro Neto, Marc Guiu, Felix, and Nkunku, after the coach used nine substitutions in the victory against Wolves.

On Thursday, Servette might start Enzo Crivelli or Jeremy Guillemenot in goal as Victory Beniangba hasn't played this season owing to a muscular ailment and needs a few more weeks to recover.

Dereck Kutesa, 26, started on the left flank in the first leg and is expected to start again in the starting lineup; he has scored five goals in nine games this season. Kutesa has had offers to leave the club due to interest from Saudi Arabia.

Theo Magnin and Alexis Antunes will be vying for starting roles at right back and midfield, respectively, from Keigo Tsunemoto and David Douline. Still, Haberli is unlikely to make many changes to his starting lineup.

Our Predictions

Chelsea to win @ 1.66 on Sky247.ng

On Thursday, the Swiss team is anticipated to attack from the start of the match since they have nothing to lose. Chelsea might face a tough challenge if Servette can regain their clinical touch in the final third.

Even with Maresca making several substitutions, Chelsea should still have enough talent to win the match in Geneva and secure a comfortable aggregate victory.

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