Chelsea makes a surprise omission from the Conference League team list

Chelsea have left out four senior team players from their list for the 2024/2025 UEFA Conference League season as they continue to battle squad management with over 40 players available to manager Enzo Maresca.

The Blues defeated Swiss side Servette 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League after Manchester United’s FA Cup triangle last season condemned them to the third tier of European club competition instead of the UEFA Europa League.

Chelsea’s participation in the UEFA Europa Conference League this season could put the number of matches they will play up to around 80 games, forcing some tough decisions in terms of the roster for competitions.

The London club has omitted England forward Palmer, midfielder Romeo Lavia, and defenders Ben Chillwell and Wesley Fofana have all been omitted to reduce their responsibilities.

Lavia and Fofana’s omissions have been affected because they are both recovering from long-term injuries, while star Cole Palmer was left out of the group stage of Europe’s third-tier competition to avoid fatigue and injuries. 

However, Chelsea will be able to re-register the trio for the knockout rounds on February 6 when squads can be re-submitted, but Chillwell isn’t expected to feature for Chelsea again as the coach has revealed that he was not in his plans.

Maresca has called on youngsters Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka, and striker Marc Guiu have be placed in their spots in the Conference League squad.

Chelsea’s European campaign will start with a home fixture against Gent on October 3 before matches against Panathinaikos, Noah, FC Heidenheim, Astana, and Shamrock Rovers between October and December.

Chelsea would also be participating in the 2025 FIFA World Cup, potentially piling their fixture list, especially if they get to the knockout stages of many of those competitions.