Enzo Maresca will take an even more youthful Chelsea side than usual on the gruelling 6000-mile journey to Kazakhstan as they take on FC Astana in their fifth Europa Conference League game of the season.
By Alex Roberts
Due to ongoing renovation work at FC Astana’s home ground, Chelsea will be forced to wrestle sub-zero temperatures at the Ortalyk Stadion in Almaty instead of playing at the Kazakhstani side’s usual ground.
Chelsea have won all four of their European games so far, scoring 18 goals and conceding just three, giving Maresca the envious position of being able to prioritise their game against Brentford on Saturday instead.
A chance for some Chelsea debuts
Ato Ampah, Harrison McMahon, Kaiden Wilson, Richard Olise, Josh Acheampong and Harrison Murray-Campbell have been added to the squad, with Maresca committed to playing at least two from the start.
Acheampong is the only one of those youngsters to have featured for Chelsea’s first team before, making his debut under Mauricio Pochettino last season. He also earned his first game under Maresca for his boyhood club in their 5-0 League Cup win over Barrow earlier this season.
Chelsea have lost plenty of academy stars over the past couple of seasons in their never-ending pursuit of ‘pure profit’, and another may be born in freezing cold Kazakhstan.
Don’t underestimate FC Astana
FC Astana may not be as glamorous as Chelsea, but they certainly have some European pedigree, bagging surprise draws against Atlético Madrid, Benfica, and Galatasaray in their 2015-16 Champions League campaign.
Summer signing Geoffrey Chinedu has been on fire so far this season, scoring 12 goals in 18 appearances across all competitions as Astana sit second in the Kazakhstani Premier League and 23rd in the new Europe Conference League league phase.
Goals have been hard to come by in Europe for Grigori Babayan‘s side this season, with the team scoring just twice in their opening four games and clinging to their knockout qualification hopes by a thread.
Can Marc Guiu make a claim?
The young La Masia graduate joined in the summer but has struggled to make any real impact thanks to Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku’s impressive form both domestically and on the continent.
He does have one goal, however, scoring Chelsea’s second in their 8-0 battering of FC Noah on Matchday 3, capitalising on some sloppy defensive play from the Armenians.
Guiu’s pressing is arguably the strongest aspect of his game, having won possession in the final third three times and boasting a 100% tackle success rate in the Europa Conference League.
The game against Astana could prove to be the perfect opportunity for the youngster to get some goals and build some confidence.
Prediction
It’s a long trip, but Chelsea’s immense squad depth gives them a unique advantage. On paper, the Premier League giants should be winning every single game the Conference League can throw at them, and the match against Astana won’t be any different.
We’re going to go with 3-1 to Chelsea.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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