Chelsea vs Djurgarden Prediction: Reserves can get the job done for the Blues

Chelsea have one foot in the Uefa Conference League final thanks to a 4-1 victory at Djurgarden last week. The Blues welcome the Swedish club to Stamford Bridge on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 3) for the second leg of their semi-final tie. 

The hosts enjoyed a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Premier League last time out and boss Enzo Maresca may be tempted to rest some of his key players ahead of a crunch clash with Newcastle United on Sunday. Below you will find my Chelsea vs Djurgarden predictions, supported by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Chelsea picked up a huge three points against Liverpool to strengthen their top-five credentials in the Premier League. They are facing a direct rival in Newcastle on Sunday, so Maresca is likely going to want his first-team regulars fit and refreshed for the trip to Tyneside, so the Italian could rotate heavily for the visit of Djurgarden.

The likes of Malo Gusto, Tosi Adarabioyo, Jadon Sancho, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Filip Jorgensen are expected to get a start on Thursday.

Marc Guiu, Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku, who has been a standout star for the Blues in this competition, are all out through injury.

Djurgarden head to west London without goalkeeper  Filip Manojlovic because he is not registered in their Conference League squad, while Malkolm Nilsson is out with an issue with his elbow. This leaves Jacob Rinne to start in between the sticks for the Blaranderna.

Boss Jani Honkavaara is having to deal with a lengthy injury list at the moment, which has increased with the additions of Patric Aslund, Oskar Fallenius, Nino Zugelj, Rasmus Schuller and Piotr Johansson.

Chelsea vs Djurgarden Odds

Chelsea are the overwhelming favourites to win this match in regulation time at 1/6. Six of their 11 Conference League matches have seen the Blues win and both teams score, which is marketed at a more attractive price of 13/8, which has an implied probability of 38.1%.

Djurgarden have won two of their past four fixtures in the UCL and they are 14/1 to stun Chelsea, who lost their last home appearance in Europe to Legia Warsaw.

The draw is available at 7/1. Both teams to score has been a successful bet in five of Chelsea's last seven games in Europe and BTTS is marketed at 11/10.

Chelsea and both teams to score @ 13/8

A lot of fringe stars may start for Chelsea but there is still a lot of quality there and they should be able to best Djurgarden on home soil. Some of them will be hoping that they can do enough to impress Maresca to try and force their way into his first XI, which has earned the majority of minutes in the Premier League.

Sancho, who's loan has not gone to plan amidst talks of Chelsea planning on paying a penalty fee to cancel their obligation to buy deal with Manchester United, is one who will be determined to impress. If his future isn't in west London or Manchester, he needs to advertise himself ahead of the summer as it looks like he may be in need of a new club ahead of 2025/26.

There are others likely to feature on Thursday, who may be in the same position, or fighting to move up the pecking order. Dewsbury-Hall looks to have made the wrong move from Leicester City, and he is another who could be available in the upcoming transfer window.

Maresca has rotated frequently in the Conference League and Chelsea have won 10 of their 11 matches to date. They did lose at home to Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals but I don't think that will happen this time around - although I've added BTTS because it has struck in five of Chelsea's last seven outings in Europe, including their trip to Stockholm a week ago.

Jadon Sancho anytime goalscorer @ 13/8

As I touched on earlier, these final weeks of the season are huge for Sancho as it appears that he will be in need of a new employer in the summer. He's found himself behind Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto in the pecking order of Maresca's first XI at Chelsea, so consistent minutes have been hard to come by.

He started on the left flank against Djurgarden last Thursday, and he looks set to feature in attack again for the home leg. He bagged his first Conference League goal in Sweden so he will come into this contest with some much-needed confidence.

The winger may be one of the most experienced heads in the team for this clash and I think he will be looked to for inspiration from the younger stars in the side. I think he will step up and deliver, having had a positive impact in the first leg, and I'm backing him to hurt the Swedish club for the second time in the space of a week.

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