Enzo Maresca confirmed at his pre-match press conference that he will select 'the best XI' to face Djurgarden, and revealed Marc Guiu is closing in on a return to action and could even be part of the matchday squad.

The Spanish striker has been ruled out since February after picking up an injury in our home victory over West Ham. However, the teenager could return in our Conference League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening.

We welcome Swedish side Djurgarden to SW6 and are looking to progress to the final of the Conference League by building on our 4-1 first-leg victory in Stockholm.

Goals from Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke and a brace from Nicolas Jackson ensured we left the Swedish capital with a healthy aggregate lead, and Maresca confirmed to the gathered media at Stamford Bridge that he has no fresh injuries to contend with.

‘We don’t have any new injuries,’ Maresca stated at his pre-match press conference. ‘This is good for us. Everyone is fit and Marc Guiu could even be involved in tomorrow’s squad. We are not sure yet, we will make a decision on him, but he is getting closer.

‘Maybe it’s better for Marc to have a few more days of training, but he is very close to being back with us. That will be very good news for us and for Marc.’


While the Blues go into the clash at Stamford Bridge in a strong position following our commanding victory from the first leg, Maresca has insisted he won’t be taking the game lightly.

A strong side will be selected – as it was against Legia Warsaw in the previous round – despite the quick turnaround to Sunday’s clash with Newcastle in the Premier League.

‘Tomorrow is the game,’ Maresca explained calmly. ‘That is our focus.

‘For sure, 48 hours after tomorrow, to then play at 12pm on Sunday is not ideal and there is not a lot of time to recover.

‘That is just something you have to deal with when you play in many competitions. It happened last week, we arrived back from Sweden at 5am in the morning and we played the game on Sunday.

‘We will try to be ready for tomorrow’s game and then focus on Sunday.’

Maresca didn’t give much away in terms of team selection when speaking to the media, but highlighted that whatever side takes to the pitch, it will be strong enough to see the job out and ensure we reach the Conference League final.


‘It is a European competition that we are going to try to win,’ added Enzo. ‘The next step is to reach the final, but first we must try to do our job tomorrow.

‘If you remember the second game at home against Warsaw, we started with Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer. It was a strong team.

‘We try in every game to start with the best XI, so we will start tomorrow with the best XI for us in this game.’