Astana v Chelsea LIVE: Conference League workforce information and line-ups with Blues starlet poised for full debut
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Chelsea travel to Kazakhstan in the Conference League to play Astana in a gruelling midweek trip.
The Blues have taken a young squad with many highly-rated talents set for a debut in the freezing conditions of Almaty.
Enzo Maresca will hope to maintain the good form following a thrilling comeback victory at Tottenham on Sunday, with Cole Palmer thriving, before turning attention back to league matters and a Sunday evening kick-off against Brentford.
Chelsea are top of the Conference League, level with Legia Warszawa, with just two games remaining against Astana and Shamrock Rovers back at Stamford Bridge on 19 December.
Follow all the latest build-up to the early kick-off in the Conference League in our live blog below:
Jadon Sancho is turning into one of the signings of the season under Enzo Maresca’s care at Chelsea
Derby day provided a timely reminder of a certain talent that resides within Chelsea’s attacking ranks.
As “Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again” rang out from the away end, Enzo Maresca revelled in his biggest win yet as Chelsea boss, which propelled his side to second in the league and extended their unbeaten run to eight in all competitions.
Chelsea’s travelling squad for Astana
Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom, Max Merrick
Defenders: Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Josh Acheampong, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Richard Olise, Kaiden Wilson
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Kiano Dyer, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Harvey Vale
Forwards: Pedro Neto, Ato Ampah, Tyrique George, Marc Guiu, Shumaira Mheuka
Chelsea hoping to keep 100% record intact
Chelsea hope to keep their 100 per cent record in the Conference League phase intact.
Legia Warsaw are the only other team to have won four from four and a victory over Astana secure a place in the Round of 16 for the Blues.
Astana vs Chelsea
This is the first-ever match between Chelsea and any club from Kazakhstan. Astana’s only match-up with English opponents, meanwhile, came in the 2019 Europa League group stage against Manchester United.
They lost 1-0 at Old Trafford but came from behind on their own 4G pitch to beat a very young Red Devils side 2-1.
An eight-hour flight for Chelsea
According to club historians, never before have Chelsea travelled so far to play in a European competition.
An eight-hour direct flight from London, the fixture is 1,000 miles further east than Baku, where they triumphed in a resounding 2019 Europa League final victory over Arsenal.
Will Acheampong make his full Chelsea debut?
“Probably, yes,” said Enzo Maresca when asked if he intends to hand out any debuts to younger players in Kazakhstan.
“He’s in the squad, probably he’ll play from the start. With Josh, it’s clear, we all love Josh. The club loves Josh, I love Josh, we are trying to find an agreement with the player, we are close, we are almost there. We’ll see.”
Chelsea’s long-trip
Chelsea’s penultimate match of the Uefa Conference League league phase requires a 7,000-mile round-trip to Almaty, where the Blues aim to end Astana’s 13-game unbeaten home run in all competitions.
Enzo Maresca confirms full debut for Chelsea starlet after breakthrough in contract talks
The 18-year-old is one of the most highly-rated talents coming out of the Cobham, though the defender has played just once this season amid uncertainty over his future.
Astana vs Chelsea predicted line-ups
Enzo Maresca should utilise his huge squad and make a heap of changes for this game with Chelsea the heavy favourites to go on and win. Here’s how we see the two teams lining-up today:
Astana XI: Condric; Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Kalaica, Vorogovskiy; Ebong, Amanovic; Tomasov, Gripshi, Camara; Geoffrey.
Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Veiga; Rak-Sakyi, Dyer; George, Dewsbury-Hall, Nkunku; Guiu.
Early team news
Astana have not played for nearly a fortnight and are not thought to have any fresh injury concerns.
Enzo Maresca has spared most of his squad the trip to Kazakhstan, with Chelsea set to have a youthful look. Josh Acheampong is set to start while Ato Ampah, Harrison McMahon, Kaiden Wilson, Richard Olise and Harrison Murray-Campbell are among others to have travelled hoping for an opportunity.
