Chelsea resume their Europa League campaign on Thursday night when they welcome the Hungarian champions MOL Vidi.
After a draw on Saturday against Liverpool, Chelsea have maintained their unbeaten start to the season and will hope to continue that run against MOL Vidi.
The Hungarian champions reached the Europa League group stages after being eliminated from the Champions League in the final qualifying round, losing 3-2 on aggregate to AEK Athens.
MOL Vidi lost the first match of their Europa League journey to BATE Borisov, despite dominating much of the possession and creating chances, and will likely be hoping to get a point from a Chelsea side that will likely look a lot different from the one that faced Liverpool on Saturday.
Maurizio Sarri didn’t commit to naming any players that might be involved against MOL Vidi, but he did suggest that some changes will be made, especially with a trip to Southampton on the weekend and trips for a few players going on international duty next week.
He did make changes for the trip to Thessaloniki in matchday 1, but he still managed to put out a strong side, despite Chelsea labouring to a 1-0 win.
Pedro has returned to training and will face a late fitness test, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek may also be available after struggling with a leg injury picked up with England during the last international break.
But barring any late surprises, it does seem unlikely that any young players like Ethan Ampadu or Callum Hudson-Odoi will make their first starts for the team this season.
Given the quality at Sarri’s disposal, any team that he chooses to put out should be good enough to beat MOL Vidi at Stamford Bridge and continue to send Chelsea on the path to qualification for the knockout stages of the competition.
