Conference League: Legia Warsaw vs. Chelsea Match Preview

Enzo Maresca’s Blues will be looking to secure themselves a commanding lead in Poland on Thursday evening ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

The Quarter Finals of the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League will finally be getting underway on Thursday evening, with the first leg of all of the ties being played ahead of the second leg next week.

Chelsea, who are led by their Italian Head Coach Enzo Maresca, are set to make the trip to Poland to face Polish heavyweights Legia Warsaw at The Marshall Józef Piłsudski’s Municipal Stadium, a ground with a capacity of more than 30,000.

This game will be kicking off at 17:45 on the evening of Thursday 10th April 2025, with the Blues’ aim being to build a healthy advantage to take with them into the second leg at Stamford Bridge next week.

Chelsea are amongst the favourites to go on to lift the trophy this season, with the final set to also be played in Poland, this time at the Stadion Wrocław, the home of Legia Warsaw’s fellow top flight side Śląsk Wrocław.

The Blues have consistently demonstrated their very strong credentials to win this season’s Conference League, and this began with their incredible campaign in the League Phase. The West London Club won all eight of their games, which meant that they were able to finish at the summit of the table with no less than the maximum of 18 points having been amassed from their 6 games at this stage of the competition.

Chelsea secured League Phase victories against the likes of Gent (Belgium, 4 – 2), Panathinaikos (Greece, 4 – 1), Noah (Armenia, 8 – 0), Heidenheim (Germany, 2 – 0), Astana (Kazakhstan, 3 – 1), and Shamrock Rovers (Republic Of Ireland, 5 – 1).

Then came the Round of 16, which saw Maresca’s Blues side drawn against Danish Heavyweights in the form of FC Copenhagen, with the tie taking place over two legs with the first taking place in Denmark’s Capital at the Parken Stadium. Goals from Reece James (46’) and Enzo Fernández (65’) sealed what was a crucial 2 – 1 victory, with Brazilian defender Gabriel Pereira scoring the only goal for the hosts late on in the second half (79’).

Chelsea then secured what would be a 3 – 1 win on aggregate after the second leg ended in a 1 – 0 victory for the Blues at Stamford Bridge thanks to a winning goal from English midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the early stages of the second half (55’).

We will now move on to Chelsea’s hosts for Thursday evening, Legia Warsaw, who are currently led by their Portuguese Head Coach Gonçalo Feio, who themselves did well in the League Phase. In this phase of this season’s competition, they finished up in 7th place, just in the top eight to automatically secure themselves a spot in the Round of 16.

In the League Phase, Legia Warsaw, got 12 points, winning 4 and losing just 2 of their 6 games in total in this particular phase of this season’s competition. Before this stage, they beat Wales’ Caernarfon 11 – 0 on aggregate in the Second Qualifying Round before then winning 4 – 3 on aggregate against Denmark’s Brøndby.

They then beat Drita of Kosovo 3 – 0 on aggregate over the course of the two legs to secure themselves a place in the League Phase of the current season’s UEFA Conference League.

In this League Phase, they got victories against the likes of Spain’s Real Betis (1 – 0), Serbia’s FK TSC Bačka Topola (3 – 0), Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk (4 – 0), and finally Cyprus’ Omonoia (3 – 0). This put them straight into the Round of 16 against Swedish Football Club Molde.

In the first leg in Sweden, it was Molde who won this particular game 3 – 2 thanks to goals from forward Erik Hestad (11’), midfielder Kristian Eriksen (17’), and forward Fredrik Gulbrandsen (43’). Meanwhile, Legia did manage to score thanks to some goals from Polish midfielder Kacper Chodyna (64’), and their Brazilian forward Luquinhas (67’).

Then came the second leg that took place in Poland where it was a game that saw the hosts Legia Warsaw complete the sensational turnaround to beat Molde 2 – 0 after extra time on the night to win 4 – 3 on aggregate. Both teams were down two ten men by the end of the game, with both Artur Jędrzejczyk (120’) and Kristian Eriksen (118’) getting sent off for their respective clubs.

The two goal scorers on the night were Japan international Ryoya Morishita (34’) in the first half, before making it 2 – 0 thanks to a goal early on in extra time from their Spanish forward Marc Gual (108’).

Now, they and Chelsea will meet in the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League Quarter Finals, with the first leg taking place in Poland at 17:45 in the evening on Thursday 10th April 2025.

This will be the first time ever that Chelsea have met Legia Warsaw face to face in a competitive fixture in what will be a crucial game in what is an eagerly and long awaited contest between these two sides, with the Blues having the objective of getting the better of their Polish opponents, starting with a victory in the first leg on Thursday.

Excitement and anticipation is building rapidly ahead of this fixture, with the game set to be enthralling whilst also bringing with it an incredible and intense atmosphere.

The second leg match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Legia Warsaw will be taking place in an 8pm kick-off on the evening of Thursday 17th April 2025.

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