In their Europa Conference League playoff match on Thursday, Chelsea is set on securing a victory in Switzerland against Servette. This comes just a week after they won the first leg at Stamford Bridge. The West London club earned a 2-0 win in the initial game at home, which gives them a significant advantage as they head into the second leg at Stade de Genève.
Chelsea's triumph in the first leg of the newly-expanded 2024–25 Conference League was marked by second-half goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke. After spending a season away from European competitions, Chelsea’s return to form was evident with Nkunku converting a penalty and Madueke, who came on as a substitute, adding a well-taken goal. Madueke's performance continued to impress as he netted his first senior career hat-trick in a Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, leading Chelsea to a dominant 6-2 victory. Despite initial goals from Wolves' Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen, Chelsea's strong second-half performance, fueled by Madueke’s three goals (all assisted by Cole Palmer) and a late strike from new signing Joao Felix, ensured they collected all three points.
Enzo Maresca, who remains unbeaten in the Premier League, expressed enthusiasm about Chelsea's attacking prowess in the second half of the Wolves game. He highlighted that this dynamic style is what he envisions for the team going forward. Nonetheless, Maresca stressed the need for more time to develop his squad to challenge for major titles. For now, Chelsea only needs a draw against Servette to advance on aggregate and secure a place in the Conference League draw scheduled for Friday. Chelsea has been in solid form away from home, having won their last three away matches, including two from the previous season.
In contrast, Servette, despite having more shots and twice as many corners as Chelsea in the first leg, struggled to make their dominance count and now faces an uphill battle to qualify for the Conference League for a second consecutive year. Head coach Thomas Haberli, while recognizing the difficulty of overturning a two-goal deficit against a team of Chelsea's quality, has not lost hope of staging a remarkable comeback in Geneva. Haberli lamented the missed opportunities his team had at Stamford Bridge, particularly in the second half. Servette, who won the Swiss Cup and finished third in the Swiss Super League, has been inconsistent in recent games, having won only one of their last six competitive fixtures this month. Their losses include a heavy 6-0 defeat at home to Basel in the top division and a 2-1 defeat to Braga in the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.
Servette's experience in European competition includes only two previous encounters with English teams before facing Chelsea. They had a notable 6-2 aggregate victory over Derby County in the UEFA Cup three years later, but had a less favorable result in the 1971–72 Cup Winners' Cup, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Liverpool despite winning the first leg 2-1.
