Chelsea Football Club
As the clear favorite to win the Conference League this season, Chelsea have backed up that pre-tournament tag with five wins from five on the continent so far.
Doing so with a ‘B’ team makes it even more impressive, considering manager Enzo Maresca has guided them to the top of the charts without needing to use the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson or Moises Caicedo.
The Blues remain the only team in the competition with a 100% record, and that means direct progression to the last 16 is secured, with top spot all that is left to play for.
A point will be enough to see them top the 36-team standings, as long as Vitoria Guimaraes do not beat Fiorentina by a 10-goal margin – an occurrence which simply will not happen.
Chelsea FC
Match Preview
Maresca will have been happy that they were in such a comfortable position heading into their matchday five trip to Astana, making a 7,000km round trip to Almaty, because he was able to take an even more inexperienced squad for that brutal away day.
Despite an unfamiliar lineup, Chelsea still won 3-1, and a 2-1 victory over Brentford at the weekend means they have won all seven matches since returning from the November international break.
Now they will face an Irish club in Europe for the first time, and will feel confident at condemning Shamrock to yet another defeat against an English club.
The League of Ireland outfit have faced English opponents on four previous occasions, losing both group games against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2011-12 Europa League, while also going down 9-2 on aggregate to Manchester United in the 1957-58 European Cup.
Match Prediction
Prediction 1: Chelsea to Win to Nil
Prediction 2: Over 2.5 goals
Prediction 3: Correct Score 3:0
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