Chelsea vs Gent

Chelsea’s first-ever appearance in the UEFA Europa Conference League main phase commences at Stamford Bridge as they take on Gent for the first time.

Back to European football after a season-long absence, Chelsea will seek a winning start to their maiden Conference League campaign after Cole Palmer’s unprecedented quadruple inspired them to a 4-2 Premier League triumph against Brighton last weekend. Conquering Europe’s third-tier competition would see the Blues become the first team in European football to win each of UEFA’s three club competitions. However, the London giants would be naive to take anything for granted after squeaking into the newly formatted league phase, courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate win against Servette in the qualification playoffs. Anything other than a winning start would be a significant upset, with Enzo Maresca’s side heading into proceedings amid a four-game winning streak. On top of that, they’ve only lost once in their last 14 outings at Stamford Bridge (W11, D2).

Chelsea’s dominant home form paints a bleak picture for visiting Gent, even though they thrashed domestic rivals OH Leuven 3-0 at the weekend to set themselves up nicely for this trip. It was their third victory from their last four league matches (L1), with each triumph coming by at least a two-goal margin. Unlike Chelsea, the Belgians are familiar with the Conference League as they return to Europe’s lowest-tier competition for a fourth consecutive season. With their last four appearances resulting in knockout qualifications, it’s only natural to assume Gent will enter this clash with high expectations. They’ve frequently played against London clubs in recent years, yet just one of their six such matches yielded all three points (W1, D3, L2).