Chelsea have found out their path to the Europa Conference League group stage after Monday’s play-off draw.
Seeded in the ‘main path’ of the draw, Chelsea will face either Braga or Servette, teams they have never previously encountered.
Europa Conference League Opponents Overview
Braga: The Portuguese club finished fourth in the Primeira Liga last season, and in the Champions League, they were third in a group with Napoli and Real Madrid, which is better than Union Berlin.
They defeated Israel’s Maccabi Petah Tikva 7-0 on aggregate to progress to the third qualifying round.
Braga will be playing against Servette later this month to determine who will face Chelsea.
Servette: The Swiss team recently secured third place in the Swiss Super League and advanced to the Conference League last-16 after finishing third in their Europa League group.
Tough Draw for Chelsea
This draw seems a difficult route for Chelsea to navigate especially given the quality of Braga and Servette.
The other seeded teams had comparably easier alternative opponents to face. For instance, Fiorentina will be up against Ararat-Armenia or Hungary’s Puskas Akademia and Heidenheim will be up against BK Hacken of Sweden or Estonia’s Paide Linnameeskond.
Chelsea has been drawn to host the first leg at the Stamford Bridge on Thursday, 22nd August, while the second leg will be played at either the Estadio Municipal de Braga or the Stade de Geneve the following week.
Chelsea’s European Comeback
A year after being out of European competitions, Chelsea earned the promotion by occupying the sixth place in the English Premier League which is their first try at UEFA’s third-tier tournament.
Chelsea could potentially win a total of : €8.9million if they emerge winners of the Europa Conference League as reported by Sportsbuddy.
Enzo Maresca’s team will play an international friendly match against Real Madrid this week before concluding the pre-season preparations against Inter Milan on August 11.
The play-off tie will take place on the eve of their second league match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 25.
