Conference League | Round of 16 | 2nd Leg

Mar 13, 2025 at 8pm UK

Stamford Bridge

Chelsea vs Copenhagen

(agg: 2-1)

Match preview

After winning all six of their matches in the league phase, Chelsea maintained their perfect record in the Conference League with a narrow first-leg win over Copenhagen in the last 16, thanks to goals from Reece James and Enzo Fernandez in Denmark.

Enzo Maresca bemoaned a "sloppy" late goal that gave Copenhagen hope of a comeback, but the Italian was pleased to see his Chelsea side keep a clean sheet in their narrow 1-0 Premier League win at home to Leicester City last Sunday, Marc Cucurella scoring the only goal in a game in which Cole Palmer missed his first penalty.

Chelsea are now on a three-match winning streak in all competitions and their successive Premier League victories have lifted the Champions League chasing Blues back into the top four, albeit only two points above fifth-placed Manchester City and seven clear of 10th-placed Fulham with 10 games remaining.

Ahead of Sunday's clash with Arsenal in their final game before the international break, Chelsea will be looking to finish the job against Copenhagen and reach the quarter-finals of a major UEFA competition for the 15th time in their history.

The west Londoners will welcome a return to Stamford Bridge where they have already won four of four Conference League games (including qualifiers) by an aggregate score of 19-3, while they have only been beaten once on home soil in all competitions since a 2-0 defeat to Man City on the opening weekend of the Premier League season (W14 D4) - a 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day.

Copenhagen must overturn a one-goal deficit against Chelsea if they are to avoid a repeat of their last-16 exit in their last appearance in the Conference in 2021-22, with head coach Jacob Neestrup admitting his side "have to do everything we can to pull off a little miracle".

The Danish giants have already come from behind to win a Conference League knockout tie this season, coming from a goal down to beat Heidenheim 4-3 on aggregate in the play-off round, and winning the second leg 3-1 away from home after taking the tie to extra-time just under a month ago.

Indeed, Copenhagen have impressed on the road in the Conference League since the competition's inception four seasons ago, winning nine, drawing four and losing just one of their 14 away matches (including qualifying), scoring two or more goals on nine occasions.

Neestrup's men will be looking to make history on Thursday, as no Danish team has ever beaten Chelsea (D2 L5), while Copenhagen have never beaten an English side on the road, with their two historic triumphs over English opposition - both against Manchester United - taking place in the Danish capital (D5 L11).

Copenhagen travel to London after a patchy run of form in all competitions, winning just two of their last seven games over 90 minutes. Most recently, they have drawn 0-0 with AaB and 1-1 with SonderjyskE in the Danish Superliga and dropped two points against the latter last weekend to surrender top spot to FC Midtjylland.

Recent Performance

Chelsea Conference League form:WWWWWW

Chelsea form (all competitions):LLLWWW

Copenhagen Conference League form:WWLLWL

Copenhagen form (all competitions):WWWDLD

Team News

Chelsea quartet Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu (all hamstring) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspended) remain sidelined, while James (illness) and Malo Gusto (ankle) will be assessed after missing the win over Leicester.

Although Maresca revealed after last weekend's game that Palmer had been feeling unwell in the days leading up to kick-off, the playmaker should be fit to start in an advanced midfield role on Thursday, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyrique George will be pushing for a recall after starting in the first leg.

At just 17 years and 137 days old, Shumaira Mheuka became the youngest player to start for Chelsea in a major European competition last week and he could be in line to lead the line again ahead of Christopher Nkunku, who is also an option on either flank.

For Copenhagen, Andreas Cornelius, Lukas Lerager, Oliver Hojer (all unspecified), Nicolai Boilesen (knee) and Kevin Diks (ankle) remain in the treatment room, while Thursday's game will come too soon for Roony Bardghji, who is close to a return from a long-term ACL injury.

Thomas Delaney (illness) is a doubt and will be assessed before kick-off, while Marcos Lopez is suspended for accumulating yellow cards and is likely to be replaced by Birger Meling at left-back or full-back.

Gabriel Pereira scored in the first leg and will continue at the heart of defence, while 18-year-old Amin Chiakha could again start up front, with Viktor Claesson and Elias Achouri providing support in attack.

Possible starting lineup

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Chalobah, Tosin, Badiashile, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; George, Palmer, Nkunku; Mheuka

Copenhagen possible starting lineup:

Ramaj; Gocholeishvili, Garananga, Pereira, Chatzidiakos, Meling; Clem, Froholdt; Claesson, Chiakha, Achouri