Chelsea’s potential opponents in the 2024/25 Conference League
Things would have been different for Chelsea in 2024/25 had it not been for Manchester United’s FA Cup final triumph last season.
The Blues had finished sixth in the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League after a late surge up the table but United’s FA Cup glory relegated the west Londoners to the Conference League instead. In Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge, it may come as an unwanted distraction for debutants Chelsea.
The Blues have not yet qualified for the expanded and new-look league phase of Europe’s third most prestigious continental competition, but they are in a strong position to do so after beating Swiss side Servette 2-0 in the first leg of their qualifying play-off. If they can hold on to their lead in the second leg, they will reach the competition proper.
Here is who Chelsea could come up against in the 2024/25 Conference League.
It’s yet to be confirmed which pot Chelsea will be placed in should they qualify for the league phase, but the competition is made up of six pots that each contain six of the total 36 teams. Given the pots are decided by UEFA coefficient rankings, it’s likely Chelsea will find themselves in one of the top pots.
Unlike the expanded Champions League format, there will still be just six matches played by each team in the Conference League during the league phase. Each side will play a club from each of the six pots, with three matches at home and three away.
The pots will be determined on Thursday 29 August when play-off matches in both the Europa League and Conference League have been completed, with the pots also decided after these games have finished.
With no teams having officially qualified for the league phase, it’s impossible to know who Chelsea may face should they progress. However, they will be unable to face any English teams or more than two sides from a single country.
The league phase will be made up of 24 sides that qualify via the Conference League play-off round and 12 sides that lose their Europa League play-off round ties.
Chelsea can qualify for the last 16 automatically if they finish as one of the eight best sides in the league phase, but they will face a play-off to reach the knockout rounds should they only manage to place between ninth and 24th. Teams that finish 25th or lower are eliminated.
The draw for the 2024/25 Conference League takes place on Friday 30 August.
Chelsea will be favourites for the 2024/25 Conference League but they could be joined by some impressive opposition. That includes Fiorentina, who have reached the final of the competition in the last two seasons.
RC Lens are in the Conference League play-off round as well and beat Arsenal in the Champions League last season, while La Liga’s Real Betis and Germany’s Heidenheim are other sides on course to reach the league phase.
12 sides will also play in the league phase of the Conference League after being eliminated from the Europa League play-off round. The likes of Ajax, Besiktas, Braga and Anderlecht are among the teams that could find themselves coming up against Chelsea.