Chelsea vs Servette: Preview, predictions and lineups

Chelsea host Swiss side Servette on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Conference League play-off clash.

The Blues will qualify for the expanded league phase if they can beat Servette across their two-legged play-off, playing in the the continent’s third most prestigious cup competition for the first time.

The Enzo Maresca era officially kicked off on Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea welcomed Premier League champions Manchester City to west London in their opening domestic fixture. A 2-0 defeat saw the Blues largely outclassed on home soil, with former midfielder Mateo Kovacic scoring the clinching goal late on.

The benefit of Chelsea’s bloated squad is that Maresca should have no issues fielding a strong lineup for the visit of Servette. The likes of Filip Jorgensen, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto could be handed their first starts for the Blues.

Here is 90min’s guide to Chelsea vs Servette.

Chelsea vs Servette H2H Record

Chelsea and Servette have never played one another in a competitive fixture.

Current form (all competitions)

After being omitted from Chelsea’s squad for the Man City clash, Raheem Sterling has also been dropped from the Blues’ squad to take on Servette. Ben Chilwell was also missing on Sunday and hasn’t made the squad for Thursday either.

Centre-back Wesley Fofana is a surprising omission from the squad to face Servette, while Reece James – who is serving a domestic suspension at present – will miss out through injury. The same can be said of left-back Marc Cucurella, who picked up a knock against City.

There was confusion over Tosin Adarabioyo’s status for the game but he is said to be available.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Servette (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Veiga; Dewsbury-Hall, Lavia; Palmer, Nkunku, Neto; Guiu.

The only concern for Servette heading into Thursday’s clash is winger Dereck Kutesa. He’s scored in the last two matches for the club but is receiving significant transfer interest from elsewhere as the end of the window draws closer.

Thomas Haberli is likely to field a team similar to the one that lost 2-1 to Braga last Thursday after making changes for the recent 7-1 Swiss Cup victory over Signal.

Servette predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Frick; Tsunemoto, Rouiller, Severin, Mazikou; Ondoua, Douline; Kutesa, Antunes, Cognat; Crivelli.

Chelsea should earn the first competitive victory of Maresca’s reign on Thursday against a side currently sat fifth in the Swiss Super League that were thumped 6-0 by Basel in their most recent league outing.

The Italian is likely to make changes from the side that fell to defeat against Man City and it should offer a good opportunity for some new summer signings to make their mark.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Servette

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