Chelsea’s eighth European cup final take places at the 40,000-seater Wroclaw Stadium in Poland’s third-largest city, against relatively familiar foes Betis. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time, 9pm local.

The Conference League is Europe’s newest competition and offers Enzo Maresca’s side the chance to sprinkle some stardust on an already successful season. Victory tonight would complete the set of five UEFA trophies for Chelsea – an achievement unique in football.

Three of our eight previous European triumphs yielding silverware came against Betis’s Spanish compatriots – Real Madrid in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup final, Los Blancos again in the 1998 Super Cup, and Villarreal in the same showpiece event in 2021.

The Blues’ latest tilt at silverware comes just three days after we impressively claimed the fourth Champions League slot with a 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.

Seville-based Betis finished sixth in La Liga after closing the season with a 1-1 home draw against Valencia. Ex-Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini was boosted by La Liga bringing that fixture forward to Friday, handing his side a 48-hour advantage in rest and preparation.

The Green-and-Whites have already played twice in host country Poland in this campaign without success – beaten 1-0 by Legia Warsaw in the league phase and drawing 1-1 at Jagiellonia Bialystok in the quarter-finals.

The Andalusian club reached their first-ever European final through an extra-time victory over a Fiorentina side reduced to ten players.

Enzo Maresca’s men have won 11 of our 12 Conference League proper fixtures with a goals aggregate of 38-9.

Chelsea’s only previous competitive visit to Poland was a 3-0 victory at Legia six weeks ago. The Blues have fond memories of previous encounters with Betis (three wins, one defeat), most poignantly the quarter-finals of the 1997/98 Cup Winners’ Cup en route to lifting the trophy in Stockholm.

Who will now place themselves among the firmament of Chelsea stars, including Osgood, Zola, Lampard, Drogba, and Hazard, by scoring in a European final?

Chelsea team news

Marcus Bettinelli, Wesley Fofana, Aaron Anselmino and Romeo Lavia are not registered for the Conference League and will not feature in the final. The quartet has travelled to Wroclaw, however, to support their team-mates.

Christopher Nkunku is back in contention after overcoming injury. The French forward missed our previous six matches but was among those involved in training at Stadion Wroclaw on the eve of the final.

Nicolas Jackson is also available for selection. The Senegal forward didn't feature in our final two Premier League fixtures due to suspension.

Chelsea's European final history

While reaching the decisive game in Europe is unprecedented for Betis, Chelsea have won six of the previous seven UEFA finals in our history.

In Athens in 1971, Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by the Blues in a Cup Winners’ Cup final replay, Osgood and John Dempsey hitting the mark for Dave Sexton’s side.

Stockholm was the setting for the 1998 edition of that final, Gianfranco Zola famously coming off the bench to smash in the only goal of the game against Stuttgart.

Our only defeat came in 2008 at the hands of Manchester United in Moscow after a penalty shootout in the Champions League.

Four years later in the same competition, Drogba’s decisive shootout penalty delivered the goods against Bayern on their own ground after the match ended 1-1.

Amsterdam staged the 2013 Europa League final in which Branislav Ivanovic’s towering last-gasp header for 2-1 broke Benfica’s hearts.

The same competition in 2019 ended with Chelsea and city rivals Arsenal trekking to Baku, where two goals from Hazard and one each for Olivier Giroud and Pedro sealed an emphatic 4-1 victory.

Most recently, in the 2021 Champions League decider, Kai Havertz’s finish just before the break was enough to see off Manchester City’s challenge in Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.

Conference League knockout stage regulations

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

The Video Assistant Referee system is used in this competition. All yellow cards not leading to a suspension were wiped after the quarter-finals.

The winners of this competition qualify for the league stage of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League – though we have already claimed a Champions League ticket, and Betis are guaranteed Europa League football through their league finish.

Know this…

Chelsea are on course to set a new club record goals tally for a UEFA campaign, the current 38 (in the competition proper) already surpassing our club record of 36 set while winning the 2018/19 Europa League.

This is the club’s 55th match against Spanish opposition – we have won 21 and drawn 18 of the previous 54.

Victory would secure the Blues’ ninth UEFA trophy and move the club closer to leading English club Liverpool on 13.

This is our 26th cup final since the turn of the century, comprising 11 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, 3 Champions Leagues, 2 Europa Leagues, 2 Club World Cups, and 1 Conference League.

Maresca patrolled the midfield of Betis’s city rivals Sevilla for years, then served Real’s current head coach Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga before becoming the Chilean’s assistant at West Ham.

Chelsea became the first English club ever to visit tonight’s host country, Poland, during a post-season tour in 1936.

The Blues qualified for the 2025/26 Champions League with the youngest average starting XI in Premier League history, aged 24 years and 36 days.

Travelling to Poland to support the Blues? Visit the Chelsea Fan Meeting Point before the game to enjoy the party atmosphere there and make your journey to the stadium smoother!