Evening Standard
·12 de dezembro de 2024
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·12 de dezembro de 2024
Blues have travelled eight hours across five time zones for Kazakhstan clash
Chelsea must quickly adapt to unusual circumstances as they take on Astana in the Conference League this afternoon. The Blues have made the eight-hour flight to Kazakhstan and will play in temperatures that are expected to drop below minus-ten degrees, with the time difference making it a strangely early kick-off time for fans back home.
Enzo Maresca’s side have been too good for this competition so far, winning all four matches and scoring 18 goals in the process. A top-eight finish, one that will secure a place in the last-16, feels close to wrapped up already, with a home clash against Shamrock Rovers to come.
Chelsea have left many of their first-team stars in London, with a dozen academy prospects brought in to bolster the squad. Josh Acheampong is expected to make his full debut, with a contract stand-off now over, while Michael Olise’s brother Richard could also be involved. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
Live updates
3 minutes ago
Enzo Maresca was asked yesterday if Chelsea are favourites to win this competition.
Yes, is the answer, but he opted for something a bit more neutral.
Maresca said: "I've said many times already about this competition; the main target is to get to the next stage, and then the next one.
“Then when we achieve the next one, the target is to get to the next one. I don't like to think about four or five months ahead."
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
16 minutes ago
Josh Acheampong is one of the most highly-rated young talents to emerge from the Chelsea academy in recent seasons, but has recently been frozen out over a contact dispute.
The full-back has 18 months left on his existing deal and the Blues are keen for him to commit his future.
In a bid to force the issue, the club told Acheampong he would not be considered for selection while the stand-off continued and he has not been part of a first-team squad since coming off the bench in the September’s Carabao Cup tie against Barrow.
The 18-year-old was also left out of the club’s U21 side for the best part of three months until returning to the fold against Derby at the end of the November.
While no agreement has yet been reached over a new contract, negotiations are heading in the right direction and Acheampong has recently been reintegrated into Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad.
The Chelsea boss said yesterday: “With Josh it’s quite clear. We all love Josh. The club loves Josh. I love Josh. And we are trying to find an agreement with the players. We are close. We are almost there.”
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
26 minutes ago
Here’s a look inside the stadium with just under an hour to go until kick-off.
Axel Disasi was speaking yesterday about wearing two pairs of gloves - think we might be a bit beyond that stage.
33 minutes ago
Joao Felix’s unplanned absence paved the way for one more youngster to slot into Enzo Maresca’s team this afternoon and it’s Samuel Rak-Sakyi who gets the nod to make his first Chelsea start, writes Malik Ouzia.
With Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George are also in the lineup, it’s three Cobham graduates.
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
40 minutes ago
Big occasion for Samuel Rak-Sakyi and Josh Acheampong, who make their full debuts for Chelsea.
Tyrique George also starts, while it’s a very, very inexperienced bench.
Of those named as substitutes for this match, Harvey Vale is the only with a senior appearance for the Blues.
42 minutes ago
Starting XI: Seisen, Bartolec, Kalaica, Kazukolovas, Vorogovskiy, Ebonh, Chinedu, Tomasov, Marochkin, Camara, Amanovic
Subs: Zarutskiy, Condric, Bystrov, Kuat, Ahanonu, Beisebekov, Osei, Astanov, Basmanov, Gripshi, Karimov, Zhaksylyk
47 minutes ago
Starting XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga; Rak-Sakyi, Dewsbury-Hall, Chukwuemeka; Neto, Guiu, George
Subs: Bergstrom, Merrick, Dyer, Vale, Olise, Ampah, Murray-Campbell, Wilson, Mheuka
52 minutes ago
Should be getting all the team news in the next couple of minutes.
Will be very interesting to see how many youngsters Maresca throws in from the start...
1 hour ago
No fewer than a dozen academy products have been drafted in to bolster the Chelsea squad.
Here’s what you need to know about them...
Richard Olise
Two nights after brother Michael was tearing it up for Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the younger Olise will be hoping for his own taste of European action.
Now 20, the right-back joined Chelsea at the age of eight and, unlike his brother - who also played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Reading at youth level - has continued his development at Cobham.
Kaiden Wilson
Bristolian was spotted playing in an U14 tournament in his hometown and invited to join the Chelsea academy.
A key part of the U18 side that finished top of the Premier League South last season, has since made the step up to U21 level and scored his first goal in last month’s win over Derby.
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