Real Betis vs Chelsea Preview

After securing Champions League football at the weekend, Chelsea will look to end their season on a high note when they take on Real Betis in the Conference League final this Wednesday.

The Spanish side have already secured a place in next season’s Europa League, so winning this trophy has no added bonus for both teams, except the honour of being the fourth team to win the Conference League after Roma, West Ham and Olympiacos.

Betis closed their La Liga campaign with a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Friday night, a result which stretched their winless run in all competitions to five matches (D4, L1). That’s less-than-ideal form ahead of this final.

But with just one defeat in ten in this competition (W6, D3), they have saved their best form for Europe this season. They’ll need any momentum they can get to overcome their negative European record against English sides (W1, D1, L6), and having never scored more than once in any of those games, winning their first European trophy in their maiden continental final will be a massive challenge.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are seasoned campaigners on the European stage and could become the first club to win all five major European competition titles should they win in Wrocław.

They journey to Poland on a huge high after a 1-0  over Nottingham Forest on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday making it seven wins in their last eight games (L1).

However, the Blues have had two days less to recover than their opponents here. They will hope that doesn’t affect them too much as they bid to snap a nine-match losing streak for English sides against Spanish opposition in European finals.

They certainly won’t be shaken by those negative historical facts, having won 11 of their 12 games in the main draw of the Conference League this season (L1), a run which should build belief that a fifth successive win in a European final is on the horizon.