Conference League Draw: Clubs Chelsea Could Face in Playoff Round
- Chelsea will begin their Conference League journey from a double-legged playoff stage later this month
- The English giants were related to the Conference League after Manchester United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final
- Legit.ng explains how the process works and the possible set of teams they could face in the last qualifying round of the competition
Chelsea will know who they will face in the final playoff round of the UEFA Conference League when the draw is done on August 5.
The Blues booked their position in the third tier of UEFA club football after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season.
![Enzo Maresca, Chelsea, UEFA Conference League draw. Enzo Maresca, Chelsea, UEFA Conference League draw.](https://cdn.legit.ng/images/1120/dccdb7fb9b7b3b3f.jpeg?v=1)
Source: Getty Images
The then-Mauricio Pochettino-coached side would have qualified for the Europa League, but Manchester United's FA Cup win saw them get relegated to the Conference League.
Subsequently, Chelsea will have to play a two-legged playoff to qualify for the group stages of the competition, which will henceforth be known as the league stage as UEFA rolls out new formats for its competition.
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How the UEFA Conference League draw works
The west Londoners will be the club with the highest co-efficient of all the teams participating in the competition. 48 teams will participate in the August 5 draw; 10 will join the Champions Path, where four will be winners in the third qualifying round while six will be losers of the Europa League Champions Path qualifying round.
The other 38 will join from the main path through their league positions, winners of domestic cups, losers of the Europa League main path third qualifying round, and winners of the Conference League third qualifying round main path.
Chelsea will be one of the seeded teams in the main path. They will face an unseeded team from either the Champions path or the main path. The team that is drawn first will play the first leg at home.
The third qualifying round will take place on August 8 and 15 before the winners proceed to the playoff stage where Chelsea is.
Teams Chelsea could face in the Conference League
Ahead of the draw, Legit.ng looks at possible teams Chelsea could face in their pursuit to make it to the league stage.
1) Winners of the tie involving
Zrinjski vs Botev Plovdiv
Maribor vs Vojvodina
Hajduk Split vs Ruzomberok
Osijek vs Zira
Trnava vs Wisla
Ararat-Armenia vs Puskas Academy
Kilmarnock vs Tromso
St.Mirren vs Brann
St. Gallen vs Slask
Drita vs Auda
Hacken vs Paide
Paphos vs CSKA 1948 Sofia
Paks vs Mornar
Sabah vs St. Patricks
2) Losers of the tie involving
Servette vs Braga
Lugano vs Partizan
Panathinaikos vs Ajax
Kryvbas vs Plzen
Elfsborg vs Rijeka
Celje vs Shamrock Rovers
Dinamo Minsk vs Lincoln
UE Santa Coloma vs RFS
Panevezys vs Macabbi Tel Aviv.
Victor Ezeji's message to Osimhen
Legit.ng has also reported that Victor Ezeji has advised Victor Osimhen against forcing a move away from Napoli.
Osimhen has been in the news over a potential exit from the 2023 Italian champions with Cheslea one of the clubs linked with him.
However, former Nigerian international Ezeji has advised the current Super Eagles striker not to leave Napoli.
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Source: Legit.ng