Chelsea’s reward for sixth place last season was a place in the (playoffs for) the renamed “Conference League” (née “Europa Conference League”), a UEFA third-tier cash grab for the continent’s next-best 36 teams. at least theoretically.

We are by far the biggest team in this year’s competition, especially in terms of the UEFA coefficient (despite a year outside Europe): the gap between us (96,000) and the next highest team, FC Copenhagen (51,500), is almost the same such as the distance between Copenhagen and the worst-placed participant in the league phase, FC Noah (2.125). Or to put it another way: our coefficient is almost exactly as large as the next two combined. One of these two, KAA Gent (45,000), is in town today.

Of course, as we saw in the playoff against Servette FC, games are not won based on coefficients or reputation. They are won by goals and lost by mistakes. Due to the structure of this competition, we can afford a few mistakes in the league phase and still get to the crucial part (the top 8 advance to the round of 16, the next 16 advance to the round of 32; only the bottom 8 follow go home), but we are expected to win all six games – thus avoiding the additional two games that the round of 32 would entail.

Enzo Maresca admitted that we are aware of the potential to make history by winning this competition and become the first club to win all major European club competitions (once again), but also made it pretty clear that we are not after it strive as far ahead as one can imagine.

“We are excited and will try to do our best. It’s a European competition and we have to be prepared for it. (…) We are aware of the possible story, but we are happy and excited for tomorrow’s game.

“In the last press conference you asked me if Chelsea reached the final of the Carabao Cup last year – you can’t think about when the first game starts. You have to keep going game by game and that’s how we want to approach the rest of the season.”

-Enzo Maresca; Source: Football.London

Date/Time: Thursday 3 October 2024, 8pm BST; 3:00 p.m. EDT; 12:30 PM IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Daniel Schlager (on the pitch); Soren Storks (VAR)
Forecast: It’s starting to cool down, but hopefully it’s just the weather

On TV: TNT Sports (UK); none (USA); Sony TEN 5 (India); SuperSport MáXimo 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Discovery+ (UK); Paramount+ (U.S.); Sony LIV (India); DStv Now, SuperSport GoTV (NGA)

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea team news: There was a brief resurgence of injuries there last month, but we were successful in reducing them back down to just one person. Unfortunately, that person is Reece James, who doesn’t yet have a set timetable for his return.

As this is a UEFA competition, we cannot use the services of Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana or Roméo Lavia as they were spared this workload and were not registered. Ben Chilwell is also not eligible to play, unlike in national cup competitions.

Chelsea have won four times in a row in all competitions and have lost just twice at the Bridge in the last 11 months. Keep building that fortress!

Photo by TOM GOYVAERTS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

KAA Gent team news: That’s Gent with a T, not to be confused with Genk, with a K. Or is it just me?

Gent (with a T) only finished 7th in the 16-team Belgian top flight last season, but won the post-season mini-league game, which then earned them a one-off game against Genk (with a K), at to make the decision Who would qualify for Europe? Genk (with a K) were above them in the league, but Gent (with a T) pulled off the surprise and got there instead. K?

(If half the Belgian league has a realistic shot at European soccer, maybe that’s a sign to back off from this UEFA fever, right? Pretty soon soccer will be like the NHL, where every team qualifies for the playoffs , as the old joke goes).

Speaking of North America, the Gent (with a T) Football Club logo is a Native American head in profile and in full headdress, which is… strange and coincidental, to say the least. And it becomes even more problematic because it was apparently inspired some 18 years later, mind you, by Buffalo Bill’s traveling Wild West circus, which went to Ghent (the city) in 1906 as part of its exploitation of the native people.

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

The Club (with a T) is aware of the “societal debate” (their auto-translated words) over “sports clubs’ use of stereotypical images and caricatures of Native Americans,” but claims it continues to use it to “draw attention.” Europe for the social situation of the Indian communities today”. In addition, “KAA Gent does not avoid the debate about the club logo. Stereotyping, racism and discrimination are topics that the KAA Gent Foundation also deals with. The club logo helps us with this.” What about job security?

They have two (2!) entire pages on their website dedicated to this topic, one of which then links to a Wikipedia article. Get attention, baby!

In any case, Gent (with a T) has made a pretty good start to the season and is in third place with five wins out of nine, six points behind league leaders Genk (with a K). I’m not sure if there are any other teams in the Belgian league besides these two.

Head coach Wouter Vrancker called this a “special” occasion for his team and they will have nothing to lose. Central midfielder Omri Gandelman leads the team with six goals, while former MK Dons striker Max Dean is not far behind with five in all competitions. Captain Sven Kums is one of the few players who is out due to injury.

Previously: Gent (with a T) is a brand new opponent for us, just like the other five teams we will play against in this league phase. The last time we faced a Belgian team was 2011/12: Genk (with a K) in the group stage of the Champions League, which we would win that season. Let’s hope the pattern repeats itself!