Maresca unsure which Copenhagen Chelsea will face in Conference League

LONDON: Chelsea take a 2-1 lead into their Europa Conference League last 16 second leg against FC Copenhagen, but they are uncertain as to how the Danish side will play against them, manager Enzo Maresca said on Wednesday.

Maresca studied the opposition prior to his side’s win in Denmark, but it gave him little insight before last week’s away game.

“I was surprised because I watched many of their games, and off the ball they always defended with a line of four, but against us they had a line of five,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Thursday’s game at Stamford Bridge.

“Even at the weekend, they again played with a line of four. So we were surprised by that and had to adapt. We will see tomorrow how they will be.”

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“We watched the last game to see how they behaved but I watched many games before the first leg and they changed completely.”

Chelsea’s preparations have been disrupted by illness, with a number of players sitting out training sessions since their 1-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday, but the manager expects them to be available.

“For Cole (Palmer), Reece (James) and Christopher (Nkunku) today has been their first session,” Maresca said.

“They had some problems. Today they are all better. Yesterday they were not even here and two days ago they rested.

“Today they trained with us and we will see tomorrow if we use all of them.”

Palmer had a penalty kick saved against Leicester, his first miss from the spot in the Premier League, but the manager was not worried about the England international’s mentality going forward.

“Cole is going to miss more penalties,” Maresca said.

“I don’t have any doubt in the future he is going to miss more penalties but he is going to score more penalties. I don’t think it affects him in a negative way.”

Chelsea will face either Molde of Norway or Polish side Legia Warsaw should they reach the quarter-finals.