Servette v Chelsea: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Chelsea already have one foot in the main draw of the UEFA Conference League as they prepare for the second leg of their play-off round tie with Servette at the Stade de Geneve in Geneva on Thursday.

Enzo Maresca's side were made to work hard during last week's first leg at Stamford Bridge, but a Christopher Nkunku penalty and a strike from the in-form Noni Madueke means they take a 2-0 advantage with them to Switzerland.

Servette had their moments during the first leg, but it would take an almighty turnaround for the Swiss side to overturn the deficit and end Chelsea's European adventure before it has even really begun.

Servette v Chelsea betting tips and predictions

Chelsea to win and over 3.5 goals - 9/4

There may have only been two goals in last week's first leg, but both sides had numerous chances to add to that tally and it seems fair to expect the net to bulge regularly in Geneva.

Chelsea followed up last Thursday's victory by delivering a spectacular 6-2 win away at Wolves in the Premier League, a result that showcased the attacking talent available to Maresca, with Madueke scoring a hat-trick, Cole Palmer delivering a trio of assists and Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto and the recently returned Joao Felix all playing prominent roles.

Maresca made nine changes to his starting XI for the trip to Molineux and he is likely to rotate heavily again, but that should not dampen Chelsea's quality in the final third, although defensively they may still have questions to answer.

Servette were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet at least once during the first leg as they created serveral decent openings and had more shots and corners than their hosts.

Chelsea also shipped two goals against Wolves and they are without a clean sheet in their last 20 fixtures away from Stamford Bridge - a run that dates back to last October.

The Blues have won their last three on the road, scoring 11 goals in the process, and another high-scoring away victory seems likely, especially when Servette's form is factored in.

Last season's Swiss Cup winners have only won one of their last six matches and in their previous two home fixtures they have been thrashed 6-0 by Basel in the Swiss Super League and gone down 2-1 to Braga in UEFA Europa League qualifying.

At some stage of the contest Servette will have to play on the front foot and Chelsea should be able pick their hosts off and win what could prove an open and entertaining contest.

Christopher Nkunku to score anytime - 6/4

French forward Nkunku opened the scoring from the penalty spot during last week's first leg and the former RB Leipzig ace could be the scourge of Servette once again.

Nkunku was substituted just before the hour mark at Stamford Bridge and only made a brief cameo appearance from the bench against Wolves as Maresca continues to adopt a rotation policy early in his Chelsea tenure.

That rotation could now come to the benefit of Nkunku, who should return to the starting XI for this one and he will be keen to stake his claim for a regular place in Maresca's line-up.

There is no doubting Nkunku's scoring ability, he grabbed three goals from just two Premier League starts last season in what was an injury-hit first campaign with the club, and that came off the back of netting 23 times in his final year at Leipzig.

With perhaps a point to prove and extra space potentially available to him in the final third if Servette opt to push bodies forward, Nkunku has to be one of the primary candidates to get on the scoresheet on Thursday.

Corner match bet - Servette - 7/5

The onus will be on Servette to attack in this game and Chelsea may be happy to play on the counter and allow their hosts to see plenty of the ball.

That could lead to Servette applying pressure and forcing plenty of corners, just as they did during the first leg when they had eight corners to Chelsea's four.

Wolves also forced the same amount of corners (five apiece) as Chelsea on Sunday despite the Blues winning that match by four goals and the value would certainly appear to be with Servette, who will have the backing of a home crowd driving them forward, to win the corner count in this one.

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Servette v Chelsea odds

Servette - 15/4
Draw - 31/10
Chelsea - 13/20

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.