It was an afternoon session for the Chelsea players at Cobham today as they put the final touches on their preparations for the second leg of our Conference League meeting with Copenhagen.
We head into that fixture at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening holding a 2-1 advantage from the first game in the Danish capital, with the Chelsea goals scored by Reece James and Enzo Fernandez.
Copenhagen surprised Enzo Maresca that night by adding an extra defender to their backline. At his media conference today, our head coach acknowledged he does not know what his opposite number Jacob Neestrup will decide upon tomorrow.
‘I watched many games and off the ball they were always defending in a line of four, then against us they were a line of five,’ Maresca started.
‘Then in the game they played a few days ago they were a line of four. We tried to adapt immediately and tomorrow, to be honest, I don’t know if they will be one way or the other. We will see.’
In that game on Sunday, at home to Sonderjyske, Copenhagen were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by the team battling relegation. Maresca is not reading too much into that result, the performance, or their shape though.
‘It’s a different game,’ he stressed.
‘Tomorrow for sure will be a different game. We watched the game to see how they behaved. As I said, I watched many games before the first leg and they changed completely the way they played against us, so we will see tomorrow.’
Maresca was also quick to warn against complacency. It would be easy to have one eye on Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal at the Emirates, but the Italian is solely concentrating on the task at hand.
‘Our priority is tomorrow because it’s the next one and it’s the most important one.
‘After tomorrow we start to think about Arsenal, but for sure we are focused on tomorrow’s game.’
You can still be at tomorrow's game under the lights at Stamford Bridge! Tickets remain on sale for season ticket holders and members, in addition to Westview seats being on general sale. Buy yours now by clicking here.
And for those not in attendance, you can listen to live audio commentary or read minute-by-minute updates in our Chelsea vs Copenhagen match centre.
Make sure to secure your spot at Stamford Bridge as the Blues bid to reach the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals. Tickets remain on sale for season ticket holders and members in addition to Westview seats being on general sale. Buy yours now by clicking here.