Hello and welcome to football.london for live coverage of Chelsea’s Conference League round of 16 second-leg against Copenhagen this evening.
After the Blues edged the first-leg in Denmark last week, the west Londoners have home advantage tonight as they look to protect their 2-1 lead at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca called on the supporters to produce more following Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Leicester City at the weekend and the Italian head coach will be hoping to see a reaction tonight from those in SW6.
Reece James, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer all returned to training on Wednesday afternoon as the Chelsea players were put through their paces in Cobham. The trio had missed the session 24 hours before with a sickness bug going around the camp in recent days.
Malo Gusto, who limped off in the win in the Danish capital seven days ago, was not present in training and is expected to miss tonight’s second-leg. For Copenhagen, they will be encouraged by some of the opportunities they created against the Blues last week – and, of course, that late goal courtesy of Gabriel Pereira that ensured the tie is still in the balance.
Bobby Vincent will be keeping you up-to-date with all the goings on at Stamford Bridge throughout the evening. All you have to do is scroll down. Kick-off in west London is set for 8pm GMT with team news coming around an hour before that.
19:35Bobby Vincent
The warm-ups are almost done at Stamford Bridge and then the players will head back down the tunnel to complete their final preparations.
We’re 25 minutes away from kick-off in SW6.
19:11Bobby Vincent
Perhaps a bit of a surprise that Cole Palmer is not in the line-up this evening, but given his recent form, the decision to leave him on the bench has been coming.
Palmer, without a goal in his last nine matches in all competitions, is not included in a Chelsea starting XI for the first time since January 11 when the Blues beat Morecambe at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer’s shirt prior to Chelsea’s match with Copenhagen (Image: Eddie Keogh – UEFA)
18:57Bobby Vincent
Here is how the visitors are setting up this evening: Ramaj, Diks, Pereira, Hatzidiakos, Claesson, Elyounoussi, Huescas, Froholdt, Meling, Achouri, Clem.
18:46KEY EVENT
Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Chalobah, Tosin, Badiashile; Caicedo, Fernandez; George, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho; Neto.
Chelsea subs: Sanchez, Bergstrom, Colwill, Murray-Campbell, Cucurella, Antwi, James, Amougou, Walsh, Palmer, Mheuka, Nkunku.
16-year-old Reggie Walsh is named on the bench for Chelsea this evening. If he comes on for any minutes, he will become the second youngest player in the club’s history to play for the first team.
Reggie Walsh, the 16-year-old in Chelsea’s squad for this evening’s match with Copenhagen (Image: Bryn Lennon)
18:31Bobby Vincent
We are around 30 minutes from the team news dropping. What sort of XI do you want to see Enzo Maresca field this evening? Will there be a space for Cole Palmer?
Cole Palmer has not scored for Chelsea in nine matches in all competitions (Image: Mike Hewitt)
17:37Bobby Vincent
Did you miss the action from the first-leg? Not to worry, we have you covered!
In the reverse leg… #CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/T5IhllQOLQ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 13, 2025
17:19Bobby Vincent
It has been some run in the Conference League thus far for Chelsea. Since the start of the league phase, the Blues have a 100% record, where they have scored 28 goals and conceded just six:
League phase:
Chelsea 4-2 Gent
Panathinaikos 1-4 Chelsea
Chelsea 8-0 Noah
Heidenheim 0-2 Chelsea
Astana 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers
Round of 16:
Copenhagen 1-2 Chelsea
Marc Guiu celebrates scoring his first goal against Shamrock Rovers (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
17:04Bobby Vincent
Match result:
- Chelsea – 3/8
- Draw – 15/4
- FC Copenhagen – 6/1
Odds provided by Betway.
Axel Disasi celebrates scoring against Noah (Image: Glyn Kirk/AFP)
16:49Bobby Vincent
Enzo Maresca faced the media on Wednesday afternoon, where the Chelsea head coach previewed his side’s second-leg with Copenhagen. As well as talking about what he expected from the opposition at Stamford Bridge, Maresca spoke about:
- Cole Palmer’s headspace with his nine-game goal drought/missed penalty on Sunday
- Finding the right balance between the Conference League and the Premier League
- Romeo Lavia, his condition and how significant he will be when he returns
- How Nicolas Jackson is recovering from his injury
- And much more
Read the full transcript here.
Enzo Maresca during a Chelsea press conference (Image: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
16:39Bobby Vincent
A big one for Chelsea tonight and football.london‘s Blues correspondent Bobby Vincent shares his thoughts on what to expect at Stamford Bridge:
A difficult one to call because we do not know what sort of XI Enzo Maresca will field. Last week, it was a bit of a mix from the start. In the first-half, it did not work and the head coach was forced to make a triple change at the break. Shim Mheuka started as the No.9 in Denmark but I cannot see Maresca doing that again this week – I think he may go for a bit more experience as Chelsea look to see this one over the line. If Chelsea have their best players out there – the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, who have both been exceptional in recent weeks – then I think the Blues will go through. They need to go through, there is no doubt about that.
Moises Caicedo could make just his second Conference League start for Chelsea (Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside)
16:28Bobby Vincent
It has been just seven days since the first-leg of this tie out in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. The Parken Stadium was in fine voice as Chelsea edged past the Danes 2-1 to give themselves a slight advantage going into tonight’s decisive clash.
Reece James opened the scoring for the visitors on 46 minutes and it was soon 2-0, less than 20 minutes later, when Enzo Fernandez found the corner with a lovely finish.
It was all very comfortable for Chelsea for large parts of the second-half but some lapse defending with around 10 minutes to go allowed Copenhagen to get back into the tie. Gabriel Pereira headed past Robert Sanchez to half the deficit and give the Danish side hope going into the second-leg at Stamford Bridge this evening.
Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Copenhagen (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
KEY EVENT
Here we are, then. The second-leg of the Conference League round of 16 is almost upon us – and for Chelsea, it is one of the biggest games of their season to date.
The only chance of winning silverware in Enzo Maresca’s debut season lies in this competition. After winning 2-1 in Copenhagen last week, the Blues still have plenty of work to do if they are to book their place in the last eight, where they will face one of Molde or Legia Warsaw.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 8pm (GMT) this evening. Stick with us for live build-up, goal updates and detailed reaction throughout the day/night.
Reece James celebrates with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after the former scored against Copenhagen (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
