Djurgarden meets UEFA Europa Conference League favourites Chelsea on Thursday night at 3Arena in what is expected to be a one-sided semi-final contest.
Date: 01/05/2025
Location: 3Arena
Time: 8pm
This will be the ninth time that Chelsea will have met Swedish opposition in Europe, with their last meeting against an outfit from the Swedish Allsvenskan being when they beat Malmo 1-0 on 2nd November 2021, as Hakim Ziyech scored the only goal of the game. The Blues have never suffered a defeat to a side from Sweden, having won five and drawn three of their eight encounters.
Heading into this game, Djurgarden are 11th in the Swedish top-flight after just five matches, having won two, drawn one and lost two so far. In the 2024 season, the home side managed to earn a fourth-place finish, missing out on Europa Conference League qualifying but just one point behind both AIK and Hammarby. On top of that heartache, they were also beaten 4-1 by Malmo in the final of the Swedish Cup.
So far in the Europa Conference League, Djurgarden have managed to progress past the likes of Pafos 3-1 on aggregate as well as Rapid Vienna 4-2 on aggregate after finishing fifth in the Group Stage with 13 points from six matches.
The heat on Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is increasing, as the Blues sit fifth in the Premier League with 60 points from 34 matches, however, sixth-place Nottingham Forest also have the same amount of points while playing one game fewer.
Chelsea’s Europa Conference League campaign has gone much smoother, as they have won nine of their last 10 ten matches, however, their last outing did result in a shock 2-1 home defeat to Legia Warsaw - seeing them win 4-2 on aggregate following their 3-0 away win in Poland. The Blues managed to advance past FC Copenhagen 3-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16 after finishing top of the Group Stage with 18 points from six matches.
