Chelsea vs Panathinaikos Europa Conference League injury news with two out and two doubts

Chelsea turn their attention to the Europa Conference League this week as they face a trip to Athens to play against Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday evening.

The Blues come off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool after goals from Mohammed Salah and Curtis Jones were enough to cancel out Nicolas Jackson’s early second-half finish. Despite scoring his sixth goal of the season, it wasn’t enough to earn Enzo Maresca’s side a point and now means they will look to bounce back on Thursday against Panathinaikos.

The side sit sixth in the Greece Super League with three wins in their opening eight matches, five points off league leaders Aris. They are unbeaten in three matches and are in good form ahead of Chelsea’s visit. Maresca’s side won their opening Europa Conference League match against Gent where a 4-2 win gave the Blues three points in the first fixture of the new ‘league phase’.

Chelsea injury news

The Blues have a fairly healthy squad with just one player ruled out of Thursday evening’s game. It comes in the form of ex-Aston Villa and Derby County midfielder Omari Kellyman.

The 19-year-old suffered a hamstring strain last season whilst at Villa and is yet to make a recovery which has kept him from making his debut at Stamford Bridge. He is not expected to return soon but has been training with Chelsea’s U21s team.

Furthermore, left-back Ben Chilwell is dealing with an illness which kept him out of Sunday afternoon’s defeat against Liverpool, however, it is not expected to be a major injury.

He is currently being assessed for his illness but there is a chance that he could be available for selection against Panathinaikos. Before the weekend, Enzo Maresca said: “Chilly is one of our players. He was ill [this week], so he didn't get any sessions.”

Panathinaikos injury news

Chelsea’s opponents also have two players listed on the injury report with one ruled out and one a doubt. Firstly, attacker Fotis Ionnidis suffered a fracture during a game against Olympiacos on October 6. He is not expected to play against Chelsea.

However, striker Andraz Sporar has been dealing with a minor illness since Saturday and will be assessed as to whether he is ready to play on Thursday evening. The Slovenian has one goal in three games so far this season spending most of the season so far on the bench.