Football Tips

Chelsea to Lift the Trophy

Chelsea look well-placed to lift the trophy on Wednesday night. They've won 11 of 12 games in the Conference League and come into this final with strong momentum, having secured a Champions League spot with the youngest squad in the Premier League.

Real Betis, meanwhile, are winless in five and haven’t kept a clean sheet in 11 – a defensive record Chelsea are more than capable of exploiting.

Enzo Fernandez to Score or Assist

He’s registered six goal contributions across his five appearances in the competition (1 goal, 5 assists). Fernandez has been deployed in a more advanced role by Enzo Maresca this season with the 24 year old previously being between roles under Mauricio Pochettino.

Fernandez has registered 20 goal contributions across his 45 appearances in all competitions this season (7 goals, 13 assists) compared to the 10 he recorded across 40 appearances last campaign (7 goals, 3 assists).

Fernandez registered two assists against Djurgarden in his most recent appearance in the Conference League and has made a habit of turning up at the crucial moment for Chelsea during the run in with goal contributions against Tottenham, Fulham, Everton and Liverpool in the Premier League.

Marc Cucurella 1+ Shots

Marc Cucurella continues to be given the freedom of Stamford Bridge going forwards and as such has averaged 0.88 shots per 90 this season. He’s had at least 1 shot in 8 of his last 10 starts and has scored twice across those games and so confidence should be high.


He’s been a bit part player in the Blues Conference League campaign but has still taken 6 shots within his last 4 appearances in the competition with the most he’s played in any of those games being 58 minutes. For all their attacking positives, Betis are far from solid at the other end, allowing their opponents in La Liga 11 shots per game.

Antony to Commit 1+ Fouls

Antony commits his fair share of fouls with 1.01 per 90 since his arrival on loan in January and 2 or more in 5 of his last 6 starts.

He’s also got a tendency to be sulky. Across 2 previous appearances against Chelsea for parent club Man Utd, Antony has committed 4 fouls.

Opposing Antony will be Chelsea’s left hand side combination of Cucurella and Noni Madueke combined for 2.03 fouls drawn per 90. Right wingers against Chelsea plenty of fouls across the season and with the Blues the 4 th most fouled side in the Premier League, there’ll be plenty of players capable of drawing some fouls from Antony.

Chelsea are strong favourites for this final, but Real Betis are no mugs and average the 4th most shots in La Liga with 13.6 per game. One of their shining lights in attack has been academy product Jesus Rodriguez, who has taken 1.94 shots per 90 across all competitions. He’s had 13 shots in 5 Conference League starts, including Bet365’s ‘Sub On, Play On’ offer and will be central to Betis’ chances if they’re to cause an upset.

Chelsea have only conceded 10.45 shots per game in all competitions this season, but despite dwarfing their opponents in this competition in terms of size, they’ve conceded 11.5 per game in Europe. Djurgardens managed 28 shots across both legs of the semi-final, and Legia Warsaw had 13 at Stamford Bridge, suggesting that if Betis are prepared to attack, they may well get some joy.

Considered by many in England to be an £85m flop, Antony will be desperate to prove the doubters wrong on the big stage. The Brazilian, who is on loan from Man United, has regained some of his reputation since his January move to Spain, and since signing for Betis, has averaged 2.95 shots per 90. In Conference League action, he’s had at least 3 shots in each of his last 3 starts with 14 efforts in total and with the extra motivation of showing English fans what he’s capable of, he should need no invitation to pull the trigger.

We’ve touched on Chelsea’s far from solid defensive record in this competition already, but in their last 3 matches, they’ve allowed the opposition right wingers to take 7 shots, largely due to full back Marc Cucurella’s attacking exploits. Antony faced Chelsea twice last season in a United shirt and managed 3 and 4 shots, and he feels like the type to thrive in the big occasion. 

Marc Cucurella continues to be given the freedom of Stamford Bridge going forward, and as such, has averaged 0.88 shots per 90 this season. He’s had at least 1 shot in 8 of his last 10 starts and has scored twice across those games and so confidence should be high. He’s been a bit part player in the Blues Conference League campaign, but has still taken 6 shots within his last 4 appearances in the competition, with the most he’s played in any of those games being 58 minutes. 

For all their attacking positives, Betis are far from solid at the other end, allowing their opponents in La Liga 11 shots per game. The only side comparable in stature to Chelsea that they’ve faced in the Conference League were semi-final opponents Fiorentina, who managed 23 shots in the second leg, and so Chelsea and Cucurella should get plenty of opportunities. 

Despite being more of an attacking threat than a solid defensive option under Enzo Maresca this season, Marc Cucurella has still been getting stuck in, averaging 1.11 fouls per 90 in the Premier League. He’s made seven infringements in his last eight starts in all competitions, and while those aren’t amazing numbers, this bet is all about his match-up.


Although his starting opponent in this game is likely to be Antony, who is fouled 1.63 times per 90 in a Betis shirt, Cucurella may also spend parts of this game up against Jesus Rodriguez and Giovani Lo Celso, who combine for 5.99 fouls drawn per 90 between them. The last 14 opposition left backs against Betis have committed 20 fouls between them, and with Cucurella likely to be caught out of position at times, he’ll have no choice but to commit a few cynical fouls.

Having already mentioned that he draws plenty of fouls, Antony also commits his fair share with 1.01 per 90 since his arrival on loan in January and has fouled twice or more in five of his last six starts. The Brazilian will be tearing around the pitch, desperate to impress English fans who consider him to be an expensive flop, and he’s no stranger to a sulky kick out if things aren’t going his way. Across two previous appearances against Chelsea for parent club Man Utd, Antony has committed four fouls.

Opposing Antony will be Chelsea’s left-hand side combination of Cucurella and Noni Madueke, who combine for 2.03 fouls drawn per 90. Right-wingers against Chelsea, have brought plenty of fouls across the season, and with the Blues the 4th most fouled side in the Premier League, there’ll be plenty of players capable of drawing some fouls from Antony.

Committing just 0.73 fouls per 90 across the season, Reece James isn’t your usual candidate to back for offences; however, since his latest return from injury, three fouls in three starts suggest he may be a little rusty. He made two fouls in Chelsea’s big game against Nottingham Forest at the weekend and given his opponent down Real Betis’ left-hand side, he’ll do well to avoid at least another two.

Real Betis are the most fouled side in La Liga, largely down to teenager Jesus Rodriguez drawing 3.06 per 90. The tricky winger is a master of drawing late contact and is absolutely not afraid to go down. Plenty of opposing right backs with modest foul data prior to facing Rodriguez have been forced into at least two fouls, and with many of those also booked, James will have his hands full.

Real Betis have scored in each of their last 20 games across all competitions.Manuel Pellegrini’s side have had to rely on their attacking talent to see them through games towards the end of the season resulting in end to end matches.It’s unlikely that Betis will be able to keep a clean sheet against the attacking talent of Chelsea given their recent defensive record which means Pellegrini is likely to endorse a more front footed approach.

Nicolas Jackson is far above the level of this competition and this was evident when he came on against Djurgarden in the semi final to score two goals in 45 minutes.He’s had 35 shots on target across his 30 appearances in the Premier League this season which is a record that has returned 10 goals for the striker.He should get opportunities here against a Real Betis backline that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 matches.

Cardoso has won 27 fouls across his 24 starts in LaLiga this season (1.13 per 90) with this average dropping slightly in the Conference League (0.79 per 90). However, it’s quite likely that he will be in regular contests with an aggressive Chelsea midfield.His direct opponent is likely to be Enzo Fernandez who has committed 52 fouls across his 36 Premier League appearances this season (1.59 per 90).Cardoso will also contest duels against Moises Caicedo who is averaging 1.88 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season.