Djurgarden vs Chelsea

Stockholm’s 3Arena is the venue as Djurgarden and Chelsea go head-to-head in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie.

Djurgarden made club history by beating Rapid Vienna 4-2 on aggregate to reach a first-ever UEFA semi-final. However, the Swedish outfit’s remarkable European campaign faces its sternest test yet as they lock horns with two-time Champions League winners Chelsea. Remarkably, the Stockholm-based side is the first Swedish club to reach the semi-finals of a UEFA competition since IFK Goteborg famously won the UEFA Cup in the 1986/87 season. Despite a sluggish start, Jani Honkavaara’s men have subsequently hit the ground running, winning four straight matches down the final stretch of the league phase to lock down a knockout berth. Furthermore, they’ve overcome first-leg defeats twice in the elimination stages, making it six victories from their last eight two-legged Conference League ties.

As for Chelsea, their quest to secure a top-five finish in the Premier League gained legs last weekend as a 1-0 win over Everton extended their unbeaten league streak to five matches. Enzo Maresca’s charges remain odds-on favorites to hoist the Conference League title this season despite being knocked down from a flawless nine-game record in this competition (W9) with a 2-1 second-leg home loss to Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals. History favors the Blues in this semi-final tie, considering they’ve never lost to Swedish opponents before (W5, D3). Furthermore, they’ve emerged victorious from 12 of their last 12 two-legged European ties, while they’ve only lost one semi-final leg of their most recent 14 in UEFA semi-finals (W5, D8).