Coming out of the tough loss to Liverpool, at the weekend, Chelsea FC do not have any new injury concerns heading into the midweek Conference League clash at Panathinaikos. However, the likes of Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana will all miss out on Thursday night, because they were all left out of the squad for the league stage for UEFA’s third tier competition.
UEFA Europa Conference League Matchday 2 of 6
Chelsea FC at Panathinaikos
Kickoff: Thurs. Oct. 24, 5:45pm, Athens Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece
Chelsea Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UECL Standing, Form: Chelsea FC 6th, 3 pts, +2 GD, W Panathinaikos 19th, 1 pt, 0 GD, D
Blues Team News
When you don’t include last year’s leading scorer, one of the club’s all-time most expensive midfielders, and one of the club’s all-time most expensive defenders in your squad, well, you know the message that sends. Chelsea are not taking their competition ultra seriously, and that is totally understandable. Given the massive size of their squad, all the high-priced talent within it, and the fact that they’re nearing full fitness, well, it’s time for some major squad rotation in Athens, and we’ll cover that in the next post; shortly.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.