- Chelsea were demoted into third-tier competition after Man United’s cup win
- Potential group opponents include Ordabasy and Vikingur Reykjavik
- Sunday league, grassroots, pub football… how Pep’s influence has trickled down the pyramid – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Chelsea have added new ticket price categories after dropping into the UEFA Conference League next season as they look to entice fans to Stamford Bridge for the Thursday night action.
The Blues were demoted from the Europa League into Europe’s third-tier competition after Manchester United beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup on Saturday.
Assuming Chelsea – who were Champions League winners just three years ago – make it through a play-off round in August, they could face a number of interesting opponents in the group stage.
A projection of the six seeding pots for the expanded 36-team group phase by X account Football Rankings puts Chelsea in the top pot.
Potential opponents could include Ordabasy, the reigning champions of Kazakhstan and fifth this season, Iceland’s Vikingur Reykjavik and Poles Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Chelsea were demoted from the Europa League into the Conference League for next season
The Blues will compete for this trophy next season with Thursday night football in prospect
Manchester United’s FA Cup win saw them take Chelsea’s place in the Europa League
The X account Football Rankings have predicted the seeding pots for the Conference League
Some of these are predicted to filter down from the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and the Europa League, but there are also more familiar names such as Torino, Real Betis, Lens, Olympiacos, Legia Warsaw and FC Copenhagen.
Nonetheless, Chelsea would be overwhelming favourites to win the Conference League if they take it seriously, with their UEFA coefficient of 96.000 considerably higher than the next highest – Copenhagen’s 51.500.
They will play three home games in the group stage if they win the two-legged play-off in late August and ticket prices have been tweaked.
A new Category G, with tickets on general sale prices at £27 for adults and £13.50 for concessions, will aim to fill Stamford Bridge for less appealing fixtures.
Category F has prices at £34 and £17 respectively, while Category E is at £40 and £20.
Chelsea finished sixth in the final Premier League table and that was good enough for a Europa League spot until United’s 2-1 win at Wembley saw them enter Europe’s second-tier competition.
It bumped Chelsea down into the Conference League and Newcastle United out of Europe entirely.
Should Chelsea go all the way, the final will be held at Stadion Wroclaw in Poland on May 28, 2025.
New ticket categories have been introduced for next season to pack Stamford Bridge
As with the Champions League and Europa League, the Conference League has been reformatted for the coming season with a single 36-team group stage.
Each side will face six different sides – three at home and three away – with the top eight advancing straight into the round of 16.
The sides finishing from ninth down to 24th will contest a play-off round with the victors reaching the last-16. The remaining sides are eliminated.
West Ham won the Conference League last season and this year’s final will be between Olympiacos and Fiorentina in Athens on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are closing in on the appointment of Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca as their next manager, succeeding Mauricio Pochettino after he dramatically left last week.
