Chelsea face nightmare 7,000-mile round-trip to Kazakhstan in Europa Conference League and Irish opposition

CHELSEA face some leggy nights after learning their Europa Conference League fate as they prepare for the new look competition.

The Blues are the last of the Premier League contingent to learn who they will play in Europe this season.

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But unlike their English counterparts in the Champions League and Europa League, Enzo Maresca ‘s side will play just six games in the league phase of the third-tier European competition.

Chelsea were drawn against one team from each of the six pots, rather than the two seen in the draws of the Champions League and Europa League.

The Stamford Bridge outfit themselves were placed in pot 1 and will host Belgium side Gent from the same pot.

Elsewhere, they will host Irish side Shamrock Rovers and Noah FC from Armenia.

However, the Blues have been dealt a far from ideal hand for their away trips.

They will face German side Heidenheim, Kazakh club Astana and Greek outfit Panathinaikos.

Their trip to Astana will see them embark on a 7,000-mile round-trip as they as travel to the massive landlocked country, the majority of which is located in central Asia.

Flights to the city from London take close to 11 hours to complete, something Manchester United had to content with in 2019 in the Europa League when they lost 2-1 on their visit.

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Despite knowing their opponents, they will not find out the date they will play each team until tomorrow.

The Conference League league phase will begin on October 3 and end on December 19.

Chelsea squeezed into the competition after edging out Swiss minnows Servette 3-2 on aggregate despite losing 2-1 in the second leg last night.

Figures from Transfermarkt have revealed that Chelsea’s estimated squad value of €1.05billion is worth almost as much as the rest of the 35 other teams in the tournament combined.

Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow

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