It’s All Kicking Off! co-hosts Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman disagreed on whether failure to win the Europa Conference League would be an embarrassment for Chelsea.
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The Blues will compete in Europe’s third-tier competition this season after a lacklustre campaign that saw them finish sixth, while Manchester United’s FA Cup success saw them awarded the Premier League’s final Europa League spot.
Chelsea’s surprise decision to omit Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia from their 27-man squad has sparked criticism and claims they are not taking the competition seriously.
On Monday’s episode of the podcast, Sutton and Ladyman discussed the merits of leaving Palmer out of their group stage roster, given the unrelating fixture schedule ahead of the west London outfit.
But common ground could not be found on what failure to win a competition they are overwhelming favourites for would represent. Furthermore, following West Ham’s success in 2023, the pair discussed the value of victory in the competition and whether the Blues would trade a seat at Europe’s top table next term for glory on the continent in May.
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Cole Palmer was one of three first-team stars omitted from Chelsea’s Conference League squad
