After their defeat at Anfield, Chelsea has failed to win their latest two matches and will attempt to bounce back in the UEFA Conference League as they take on Greek side Panathinaikos.
Despite their recent loss to current league leaders Liverpool, the blues demonstrated that they are still one of the top teams in English football and have the ability to compete at the highest level, and they’ll look forward to showing that on Thursday.
Selecting Chelsea's starting lineup is always a challenge, given the depth of Maresca's squad. However, here's who The Pride Of London anticipates will get the nod.
Chelsea Predicted XI against Panathinaikos (4-2-3-1)
GK - Filip Jorgensen
Chelsea’s backup goalkeeper may not play a lot, but when he's given the chance the Danish goalkeeper does well and should be starting in the Conference League competition regularly.
RB - Malo Gusto
The Frenchman played well as a left-back against Liverpool, but now Chelsea need him to start on the other side. Dasasi is the only other option with Reece James still recovering, but he played poorly as a Right-Back against Gent and the blues can't take that risk.
CB - Benoit Badiashile
Benoit failed to impress at the beginning of the season, but his performance against Liverpool even though short was decent, and It's time to reward him with a spot in the starting lineup.
CB - Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin is beginning to establish himself as Chelsea’s most reliable Center-Back, and starting alongside Badiashile should give the Panathinaikos attackers a hard time.
LB - Renato Viega
To close out the defense, Chelsea’s man of the match last time out in the competition Renato Viega should start and will contribute a lot on both ends of the field.
DM - Dewsbury-Hall
After scoring in the first game of the competition, Hall should be given the chance to do that once again.
DM - Enzo Fernandez
Enzo usually starts in the bigger games, but after resting against Liverpool, and Lavia’s great performance instead of him, the Argentinian should be getting some playing time on Thursday.
LW - Mykhaylo Mudryk
He works hard, he's showing improvements every time he steps into the field, and facing a favorable matchup in Panathinaikos should be enough to give the Ukrainian a place in the starting 11.
AM - Joao Felix
Felix is a player who in his day, no one can stop. The former Barcelona player's only problem is his consistency, and the Chelsea fans hope with enough chances he’ll be able to perform well regularly.
RW - Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku might play well sometimes but still hasn't reached the heights the fans expect of him, so maybe a shift in position will bring out the best out of the Frenchman.
ST - Marc Guiu
The young Spanish striker understandably fails to get playing time in a stacked Chelsea squad, and a game vs lesser competition like this one is a great opportunity for him to show his worth.
Like I said many times before, Chelsea has the depth to easily win the UEFA Conference League, they’re the best team in the competition and can use that fact, especially in these stages to try different things and boost the squad’s confidence.