Conference League draw LIVE!. Chelsea will discover their last-16 opponents and potential route to the final as the Conference League knockout draw takes place this afternoon. The Blues are widely considered as the favourites for glory this season in Europe’s revamped tertiary club competition, having eased through the initial league phase with six wins from six, scoring 25 goals and conceding just five to earn top spot despite playing a second-string team for the most part.
Chelsea know that either Real Betis or FC Copenhagen now await them in the last 16, with those clubs earning aggregate wins this week in respective play-off ties against Gent and Heidenheim. Enzo Maresca may look at the Conference League for some respite from his side’s recent domestic struggles, which has seen them drop to sixth in the Premier League table as well as being knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round.
Maresca has received public backing from the club amid some growing criticism from fans, but it remains to be seen if victory in this competition would assuage the doubters if his side continue to toil in pursuit of a top-four finish. Follow the Conference League draw live below!.
With the new format of the Conference League this season and pairing system in place, league phase winners Chelsea knew at the start of the knockout play-off round (that they easily avoided) that they would be facing one of Gent, FC Copenhagen, Real Betis or Heidenheim in the last 16.
This week that has been whittled down to just Betis or Copenhagen, with the former going through 3-1 on aggregate despite losing the second leg at home to Gent 1-0 last night. Copenhagen, meanwhile, edged Heidenheim 4-3 on aggregate after a 3-1 win in Germany on Thursday that went to extra time, with young Mexican winger Rodrigo Huescas popping up with the crucial goal.
Chelsea played Heidenheim in the league phase, winning 2-0 away in December. TV channel and live stream: Today’s Conference League draw will be streamed live and for free on UEFA’s official website and YouTube channel, with live television coverage available from 1pm GMT on TNT Sports 1.
TNT Sports subscribers can also watch it unfold online via the Discovery+ website and app. Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of the third of today’s European club football knockout draws, with our focus here on events in the Conference League.
Chelsea will learn their last-16 opponents this afternoon as well as a potential route through to the final in Wroclaw on May 28. Proceedings are due to get underway from 1pm GMT at Uefa headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, so stay tuned for live build-up and updates.
