Chelsea are the shark in this swimming pool and representatives of the historic Belgian port city are the first of six opponents determined to catch out the competition favourites.

The Blues, though, will want to start strongly in a quest to add more continental booty to the trophy cabinet – and have lost just two of the past 12 European games at the Bridge (both to Real Madrid).

They may have circus on their shirts but Gent are no clown show and reached the quarter-finals of this competition, now in its fourth year, in 2022/23.

The Buffalos have been a fixture of Belgium’s top flight since 1990, finishing seventh in the 16-club league last season. Following Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat of mid-table Leuven, they stand third in the table (six points shy of Genk).

The East Flanders outfit reached this stage by winning the Pro League’s European play-off in June and then overcame Vikingur (7-1), Silkeborg (5-4) and Partizan Belgrade (2-0) on aggregate in UEFA qualifiers.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have won every UEFA competition ever entered – except this new one – and are England’s second most successful club in Europe with eight titles to our name.

Team news

The minimal rest time between tonight's fixture and Sunday’s Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest could incline Enzo Maresca towards a starting XI similar to that which battered League Two Barrow in the Carabao Cup.

We already know Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer have been omitted from our Conference League squad to ease their workload over a season that will run through to the Club World Cup in June and possibly July.

Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen began both qualifying matches against Servette along with Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Renato Veiga, Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall, Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Guiu and Christo Nkunku, who netted twice against the Swiss side.

The Blues’ other goal came from Noni Madueke, who was rested from the Barrow game last week.

Teenagers Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George came off the bench to impress against the Cumbrians and could be afforded more valuable experience at some stage in the competition this season.

Recent Gent performances suggest they are susceptible to rapid counters of the sort that decimated Brighton on Saturday. Chelsea’s attacking unit will aim to spring their offside trap.

The history

Chelsea have never previously met any of our six Conference League opponents in a competitive setting, including Gent.

However, we have faced Belgian opposition eight times previously. The first encounter, with Gent’s Flanders rivals Bruges in the 1970/71 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals, lives long in the memories of all present.

We lost the first leg away 2-0 but in one of the most electric atmospheres ever witnessed at Stamford Bridge took the tie to extra-time and went on to win 4-0 with decisive goals from Peter Osgood and Tommy Baldwin.

There was almost a carbon copy in the 1994/95 competition against the same opposition; the Blues again overcame a first-leg deficit in London, this time 2-0 in normal time.

The two most recent meetings with Belgian opposition came in the Champions League group stage.

In 2005/06, Anderlecht were beaten 1-0 in SW6 and 2-0 in Brussels, while Kevin De Bruyne’s Genk were early opponents during our progress to the club’s first Champions League triumph in 2011/12.

We smashed them 5-0 at the Bridge and drew 1-1 in Flanders after David Luiz saw a penalty saved to make it 2-0.

Know this…

Chelsea were the first Premier League club to win all of UEFA’s major trophies.

The Blues have won the first match of every major international competition format we have ever entered except one: the 1970/71 Cup Winners’ Cup (1-1 vs Aris Thessaloniki).

The victories were in the 1958/59 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (3-1 vs Frem); 1998 Super Cup (1-0 vs Real Madrid); 1999/00 Champions League (3-0 vs Skonto Riga); 2000/01 UEFA Cup (1-0 vs St Gallen); 2012 Club World Cup (3-1 vs Monterrey); 2012/13 Europa League (1-0 vs Sparta Prague); 2024/25 Conference League (2-0 vs Servette).

Across Europe’s top five leagues, only five of the 96 clubs have scored more league goals than Chelsea (15) this season: Barcelona (25), Paris Saint-Germain (20) and Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Real Madrid (17).

Gent is the capital of East Flanders, whose provincial logo is a heraldic lion similar to the Chelsea badge, though not looking over its shoulder.

Conference League regulations

We enter uncharted territory in this season’s group phase: unlike previous years in Europe no team plays the same opposition twice and no side plays the same opponent.

In short, qualification for the knockout stage may feel it lies more in the hands of others than before.

In the event two or more clubs are tied on points after the league stage, rankings will be determined, in order, by goal difference; goals scored; away goals scored; number of wins; and number of away wins.

The first eight in the final table of 36 come December will advance to the round of 16 in March.

Clubs occupying the next eight positions will enter the knockout phase play-offs in February as seeds and face one of the unseeded sides that finished 17th to 24th. Teams from 25 down are eliminated.

The Video Assistant Referee system is used in this competition and a player receiving three yellow cards will serve a one-match suspension.

The final takes place on Wednesday 28 May 2025 at the Wroclaw Stadium, Poland. The winners of the competition qualify for the league phase of the 2025/26 Europa League.