Uefa Conference League draw LIVE: Chelsea discover play-off round opponents plus Hearts in Europa
The 2024/25 season is fast approaching and the Blues are set to compete in Europe’s third-tier competition
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The new domestic season is just around the corner after a summer of international football at the Olympics, Euro 2024 and the Copa America - and for one Premier League team in Chelsea, a new start under a new boss also means a new competition.
They’ll be taking part in the newly rebranded Uefa Conference League - formerly the Europa Conference League - after finishing sixth in the top flight last season. That would have seen them sneak into the Europa League, but Manchester United’s FA Cup victory instead bumped them down into the third Uefa competition.
Enzo Maresca has had a tricky start to life as boss after switching from Leicester in summer and he’s still yet to take charge of a top-flight game, but now knows he’ll need to beat either Braga or Servette to take Chelsea through into the group stage in Europe.
Follow the live blog below for the full play-off round draw reaction and Chelsea’s draw:
Chelsea await Uefa Conference League draw
We’ll explain shortly the entire draw procedure but for now you need to know Chelsea are seeded in Group 3, along with the following sides:
Seeded
- 1. Chelsea (ENG)
- 2. FC Iberia 1999 Tbilisi (GEO) / İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR)
- 3. FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE) / Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC (ISR)
- 4. Ilves Tampere (FIN) / Djurgården (SWE)
- 5. Molde FK (NOR) / Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)
Unseeded
- 6. NK Maribor (SVN) / FK Vojvodina (SRB)
- 7. SC Braga (POR) / Servette FC (SUI)
- 8. FC Spartak Trnava (SVK) / Wisła Kraków (POL)
- 9. Paksi FC (HUN) / FK Mornar (MNE)
- 10. St Patrick’s Athletic (IRL) / FC Sabah (AZE)
Chelsea will discover their Europa Conference League play-off opponents on Monday when the draw is made in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Blues have endured a tough start to pre-season, with defeat to Manchester City on Saturday. And there is an early test in their 2024/25 campaign as qualifying for the Europa Conference League begins.
After Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May secured Erik ten Hag’s side a place in the Europa League, the Blues dropped into the Europa Conference League.
And their first match in the competition starts later this month, handing new boss Enzo Maresca, who was recruited from Leicester to replace Mauricio Pochettino, an early challenge.
Chelsea will be in the Main Path of the play-off round and will sit as one of the seeds, meaning a tie against one of the unseeded sides over two legs. Uefa will release full seedings, any groupings and the procedure for the draw on Monday morning.
Here’s everything you need to know:
When is Europa Conference League play-off draw? Chelsea set to learn opponents
The Blues face an intense start to the 2024/25 season with Enzo Maresca preparing for a two-legged play-off between opening Premier League fixtures
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