Table of Contents
Chelsea look to make it two wins in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday when they take on a winless Panathinaikos in Greece. The Blues are one of several teams to win their opening game of the competition and will be heavy favorites to take a second, even though manager Enzo Maresca will field a rotating squad for the league phase. Cole Palmer was left out of the Conference League squad to manage his minutes, although a handful of their top players could be in the mix in European play this week.
Here’s what you need to know before you tune in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday October 24 | Time: 12:45 PM ET
- Location: Athens Olympic Stadium – Marousi, Greece
- Watch: Biggest+
- Chances: Panathinaikos +490; Sign +320; Chelsea-180
Storylines
Despite a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, there is plenty to be optimistic about at Chelsea as Enzo Maresca settles well into his new job. They have recorded four wins in their first eight games in the Premier League, are within touching distance of a top-four finish and sit second in the league’s goalscoring chart. While Cole Palmer’s six goals play a big part in their Premier League tally, he isn’t the only one having a strong start to the season.
Maresca is likely to rotate through his team on Thursday and expect strong results in a performance that could mirror the 4-2 win over Gent on Matchday 1. Chelsea had four different goalscorers – Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – in a dominant performance, and although they were shaky defensively, that match is likely to be a model for Thursday’s trip to Panathinaikos.
Projected arrangement
Chelsea: Jorgensen, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Veiga, Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall, Neto, Felix, Mudryk, Nkunku
Prediction
Maresca will rightly bet that a rotated side can get the job done on Thursday, so expect a comfortable win for Chelsea as they start to separate themselves from the competition in the Conference League. Choose: Panathinaikos 1, Chelsea 4