Betis’ own Palmer: Maresca can stop Antony by unleashing Chelsea "monster"
da betway： Chelsea can end the 2024/25 campaign in the perfect way on Wednesday night. They face Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final at the Stadion Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland, and have the opportunity to finish Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge with a trophy.
da brdice： The Blues have been the dominant side in the competition this term. According to Sofascore, they have scored more goals than any other side, finding the back of the net 38 times, which is 16 more than their opponents. Their nine goals conceded were only bettered by two other sides, too.
The Blues surely go into this game as favourites, given their form in the competition so far. Indeed, Maresca seems to have much of his first-choice squad available for their final game of the campaign.
Chelsea’s team news vs. Betis
Luckily for the Blues, their final Premier League game of 2024/25 last Sunday saw them avoid any inquiries. That means star players, including Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo, will be available for the final this evening.
Further inclusions and absences have been noted, with there two first-team players who will certainly not make the squad this week. They are Wesley Fofana, who is still out with an injury, and Romeo Lavia, who is not registered in the squad.
On a more positive note, Nicolas Jackson will come back into the squad for the finale, given his Premier League suspension is not in effect in European competition. Another player who could return is Christopher Nkunku.
The Frenchman was not involved against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, but his record in the Conference League is excellent. He has five goals and three assists in nine games in the competition, so he could make a real difference.
With that in mind, it will be fascinating to see who Maresca lines up with on Wednesday. Given the importance of the game, it seems the likes of Palmer, Caicedo and club captain Reece James will start, in what will surely be a strong lineup.
Chelsea Predicted XI vs. Betis
Player
Position
Robert Sanchez
Goalkeeper
Marc Cucurella
Left-back
Levi Colwill
Centre back
Trevoh Chalobah
Centre back
Reece James
Right-back
Moises Caicedo
Central midfield
Enzo Fernandez
Central midfield
Noni Madueke
Right wing
Cole Palmer
Attacking midfield
Jadon Sancho
Left wing
Nicolas Jackson
Centre-forward
Another player who could be in line to start the game is defender Trevoh Chalobah.
Why Chalobah could start vs. Betis
It has been a curious season for Chalobah in 2024/25. After spending the first half of the campaign on loan at Crystal Palace, he was recalled to Stamford Bridge and has since been an important player under Maresca.
Since returning from his loan spell, the “outstanding” defender, as Statman Dave once called him, has featured 18 times across all competitions, with four of those games coming in the Conference League.
The 25-year-old has helped to keep two clean sheets in that time, playing a total of 245 minutes in the competition. Now, perhaps he will be in line to start the final. He is a player experienced in European finals, having helped Chelsea win the UEFA Super Cup back in 2021, a game which he started and played 120 minutes.
The defensive “monster”, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has been called up to former boss Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad, although he did not start at the weekend. However, if he does come into the team for the final, potentially for Tosin, he will have the job of keeping Antony quiet.
The Manchester United loanee has been a standout player during his loan spell at Betis. In 25 games, he has nine goals and five assists. Half of those goal involvements have come in the Conference League, so he really does his best work there.
In fact, the Brazilian is similar to Palmer on FBref for this competition. For example, he averages 0.47xGA and 5.02 shot-creating actions each game. In comparison, Chelsea’s number 20 averages 0.48xGA and 4.11 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.
It will be a tough task for Chalobah to keep Antony quiet, but it will surely be crucial for Chelsea’s success. He has proven in the past few months that he has the potential to hurt opponents when given time and space, so Chalobah’s excellent reading of the game will be crucial to preventing that.
Although the winger does operate on the right-hand side, he tends to drift inside a lot and look to cut in on his left foot to get a shot off. Thus, Chalobah may well have to come up against him directly.
However, that is a battle the Chelsea defender should be comfortable handling. His defensive stats for the Blues this season, via Sofascore, are impressive. For example, he averages 1.8 combined tackles and interceptions and wins 1.9 aerial duels per game. On top of that, he has been dribbled past just once in that famous Blue shirt this term.
If he does get the nod from the start, the boyhood Chelsea star has the chance to become a key player for the Blues as they look to win more European silverware. They could become the first side in history to win the three current European trophies. Chalobah has a huge role to play.
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