Chelsea, bidding to become the first club to win each of UEFA’s major competitions, welcome Djurgarden of Sweden for the second leg of our UEFA Conference League semi-final at a floodlit Stamford Bridge, for an 8pm kick-off (UK time).

This is the 16th European semi-final match to be played at the Bridge – the Londoners have won nine and drawn five of the past 15.

The Blues bring a 4-1 lead into this match and have progressed from all 16 previous knockout ties in Europe after winning the first leg away from home, but Enzo Maresca has warned: ‘We cannot drop; we cannot relax.’

The hosts will also be buzzing, though, after clinically dispatching champions Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday, a result that boosted hopes of a return to the Champions League.

On the same day, Djurgarden’s first league derby of the domestic season at home to high-flying AIK ended 1-1.

The injury-ravaged visitors have been eliminated on each of the ten previous occasions they lost the first leg of a major European tie by two or more goals.

The winners of this match will face either Real Betis, who lead 2-1 in the other last-four tie, or tonight’s hosts Fiorentina in the final at Wroclaw Stadium, Poland, on 28 May.

Chelsea – the European semi-final history

Djurgarden are Chelsea’s fourth Swedish opponents in European competitions after Atvidaberg, Helsingborg and Malmo.

The Londoners remain unbeaten after those meetings.

Although the visitors have only faced one other English side before this tie (losing 7-2 on aggregate to Manchester United in 1964), they have already played in England this season – and won 1-0.

Their matchday four Conference League game was away to Oswestry-based The New Saints, who hosted the fixture 20 miles away at Shrewsbury’s New Meadow ground.

This tie is the Stockholm club’s debut in a European semi-final.

Conference League knockout stage regulations

Chelsea have never lost to a Swedish side but, as holders, were eliminated from the 1971/72 Cup Winners’ Cup by Atvidaberg after two draws on the ‘away goals’ rule – which has not applied to UEFA competitions since 2021.

In the event of an aggregate tie after 90 minutes tonight the teams will play extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.

The last two-legged European tie decided by penalty kicks involving Chelsea was the 2019 Europa League semi-final second leg at the Bridge against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Video Assistant Referee system is used in this competition.

All yellow cards not leading to a suspension were wiped after the quarter-finals. Only players sent off tonight would miss the final.

The winners of this competition qualify for the league stage of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League.

Know this…

Chelsea have scored four or more on five occasions in the UEFA Conference League this season – the third-most ever in a major European competition this season behind Barcelona (1999/00 Champions League) and Real Madrid (2013/14 Champions League).

Enzo Fernandez has contributed towards six goals in his past four European games (1 goal, 5 assists), including two set-ups in the first leg of this tie.

Our potential Conference League final opponents had contrasting domestic weekends. Real Betis remain sixth domestically after winning 2-1 at Espanyol, while Fiorentina suffered their 10th Serie A defeat and slipped to eighth place.

Chelsea have scored 342 goals in UEFA competitions, the 14th most overall and the fourth-highest for an English club.

8 May 1933 was the last day in charge for Chelsea’s longest-serving manager, David Calderhead, who had been at the helm since August 1907.

Westview tickets for the home leg of this UEFA Conference League semi-final are on sale for £60pp, available exclusively to CFC Members. Hospitality packages are available on general sale here, starting from £160pp.