Chelsea’s march to Conference League silverware – who can stop them?

Chelsea’s 100% start to this season’s Conference League has been interesting to watch, but not a huge surprise: the Blues’ squad is the most expensive in the competition.

Even with Enzo Maresca playing a second team in Europe, Chelsea have swept all before them, to the point that many experts are wondering who exactly can stop them from getting their hands on the trophy.

Read on to for a look at the Blues’ main challenges, and how a competition win may just spur them on to bigger things next season.

Betis

Real Betis are having a mixed time of it this season both at Europe and back home in Spain. The Andalusians have lost twice in Europe already, including to Czech minnows Mladá Boleslav, and betting on them to beat Chelsea head-to-head would hardly qualify as a case of responsible gambling.

Yet, there is hope for the Spanish, and danger for the Blues. Betis have built up a formidable home record over the years which poses a threat to most visiting teams. If they were to come up against Chelsea, then the English side would need to keep the away leg tight, before finishing the job off back in London. 

Danger men Giovanni Lo Celso (formerly of Spurs) and Vitor Roque are a handful for most teams in La Liga and could give the Chelsea back line a tough time. 

Fiorentina

Fiorentina looked to have gone from strength to strength at the start of the season, winning nine of their first 14 league games, including an eight-match winning streak from early October to December. 

They have since suffered a dip in form, but they still have firepower to hurt Chelsea, with former Everton star Moise Kean enjoying a prolific season.

Their Conference League form has been solid, if unspectacular, peaking with a 7-0 trouncing of Austrian side LASK and marked by a 2-1 defeat at APOEL.

If Fiorentina are to emulate their Italian rivals Roma and win the trophy, they’ll need to be on the top of their game to beat The Blues, but they’ve proven they can beat any team on their day.

Vitoria de Guimarães

It’s easy to overlook Guimarães as trophy contenders but they’ve made tidy work of their six group stage games so far, going unbeaten and winning four of them. 

Their trio of Silvas (Manu, Gustavo, and Tiago9 have led the charge, scoring five goals between them to help them to second place, just behind Chelsea, however they also look vulnerable at the back, failing to keep a clean sheet in the competition thus far. 

Should Chelsea come up against them, the away leg would be a tough fixture with a noisy Estádio D. Afonso Henriques backing them but, like most Portuguese teams, Vitoria don’t travel well and would probably seek a damage limitation exercise at The Bridge. 

Panathinaikos

After suffering the unthinkable tragedy of losing striker George Baldock in early October, Panathinaikos struggled to find their feet in the Conference League. However, they finished the group stage with a flourish, winning their last three games and qualifying for the play-offs.

They’ll need to get past Icelandic side Víkingur Reykjavik across a two-legged play-off, but if they do (and they’re strong favorites) then they could pose Chelsea a problem or two should they go head-to-head in the knockouts.

Talisman Andraž Šporar has been in fine form, while the team’s improved defence, which kept three consecutive clean sheets in its final three group games, has a chance of keeping Chelsea’s superstar attack at bay. 

That said, The Blues really should have too much for Panathinaikos and any victory for the Greek side would be a huge shock.

Past winners: How previous Conference League champs have fared

Italian giants Roma, and their enigmatic coach Jose Mourinho, were the first side to get their hands on Europe’s newest trophy in 2023, when they edged Dutch side Feyenoord in a tightly fought inaugural final. They went onto bigger things the next season, with a run to the Europa League final where they agonizingly lost to Sevilla on penalties. 

The following season, Chelsea’s London rivals West Ham landed their first European silverware when they beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the final. The Hammers also did well in the Europa League the following season but instead went out in the quarter-finals to Bayer Leverkusen over two legs.

Olympiacos are the current holders, beating off favorites Aston Vila in the semi-finals then before besting perennial finalists Fiorentina in the finals. This year, they must navigate a play-off round to reach the Europa League knockouts.

Should Chelsea win this season’s Conference League, then they may have bigger fish to fry than the Europa League. As one of the Premier League’s frontrunners, Champions League football may finally be on the cards, which means their Europa place would go to the team below them in the table. 

Still, a piece of silverware would be nice for the Stamford Bridge faithful, who have had to endure a tough few seasons.