Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Chelsea continue their march towards the Conference League crown on Thursday evening when they play the first leg of their quarter-final clash with Legia Warsaw.

Rather unsurprisingly given the calibre of their opposition, Chelsea are expected to waltz to glory in UEFA's third most prestigious club competition. Their route to the last eight has been straightforward but there could be bigger tests to come.

Chelsea's underwhelming domestic form could be their undoing on the continental stage - they have failed to score more than one in any of their past four Premier League games - but they should have few issues beating Polish outfit Legia given the quality and depth of their lucrative squad.

Legia are currently fifth in Poland's Ekstraklasa under Goncalo Feio and are 12 points off league leaders Rakow Czestochowa. Their European form has been more impressive but they only squeezed past Norwegian side Molde in the last 16.

Here is 90min's guide to the clash.

Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea head-to-head record

This is the first competitive fixture between Legia Warsaw and Chelsea.

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea on TV - UK and US

Legia Warsaw team news

Goncalo Feio is unlikely to make many changes from the weekend / SOPA Images/GettyImages

Feio will be without the services of Artur Jedrzejczyk and Jan Ziolkowski through suspension and key first-teamers Bartosz Kapustka, once of Leicester City, and Marc Gual are both doubts to feature having missed the last two matches.

Steve Kapuadi returns from his ban but Gabriel Kobylak and Jan Leszcynski are both absent through injuries at present.

Feio should stick with the 4-3-3 setup that has proven successful in back-to-back victories over Ruch Chorzow and Gornik Zabrze.

Legia Warsaw predicted vs Chelsea

Legia Warsaw predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3): Tobiasz; Wszolek, Pankov, Kapuadi, Vinagre; Elitim, Augustyniak, Morishita; Chodyna, Shkurin, Luquinhas.

Chelsea team news

Cole Palmer will come back into the team / Eddie Keogh/GettyImages

Enzo Maresca made sweeping changes to his starting lineup on Sunday during the goalless draw with Brentford. Cole Palmer was among a number of stars who dropped to the bench but the Englishman, alongside teammates Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella, will be restored to the XI in Poland.

Jadon Sancho, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Reece James and Tosin Adarabioyo could be among the names to drop out of the starting lineup.

The Blues will still be without the injured quartet of Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains provisionally suspended for failing a drugs test.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Legia Warsaw (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Legia Warsaw vs Chelsea score prediction

Chelsea's recent form suggests they will not run up the scoreboard in Warsaw but the Blues remain strong favourites to win on Thursday and across both legs. Regardless of how handsome, they should still have an advantage to protect at Stamford Bridge next week.

Chelsea's defensive displays have been improved in recent weeks but their lack of attacking inspiration is a concern. Maresca's side may have to accept a narrow victory on their travels.