Chelsea put in a very mature performance to beat Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday to secure their place in the Champions League for next season.
It was great to see the Blues do what they needed to do to get the job done – play slow and low tempo in the first half to take the sting out of the game, capitalise on a set piece to get ahead, then calmly see the game out despite pressure from the home team.
It means a top 5 place and a successful season, all told. But it’s not quite over yet. There is still one game left to play – against Real Betis in the Conference League final in Wroclaw. Those lucky enough to have UEFA Conference League final tickets are likely already on their way out to Poland to see if a good season can become a really good season.
We know the stakes, and we know the opposition. Our big question is over who will play for Enzo Maresca in this game. He’s played almost entirely separate teams in the Premier League and Conference League this season, but now can go full strength if he wants.
We know Filip Jorgensen will play, that’s already been confirmed by Maresca. He said it would be “unfair” to leave the Danish Swede out after he played all but one game on the way to the final. But will that logic extend to the rest of the team? We suspect not.
Maresca wants to secure the trophy, and pragmatically that means playing his strongest team. That team is the one which played against Forest on Saturday, albeit with a few tweaks. The careful treatment of Reece James we’ve see all season will surely continue, meaning he drops out, with Moises Caicedo going to right back and Romeo Lavia coming into midfield.
Apart from that, unless there are other fitness questions we’re not aware of, the only other change should be Nicolas Jackson – who was suspended for the game on Sunday, returning to lead the line. Pedro Neto will probably move back to the wing, with Jadon Sancho (or possibly Noni Madueke) dropping out.
The likes of Josh Acheampong, Benoit Badiashile and Tyrique George, who have done so well to get us this far, are just going to have to deal with it. They can at least celebrate if we win it, knowing they did play their part along the way.
