There have been many talking points at the start of the Premier League season but one that hasn’t been spoken about much has been the impressive start that Chelsea have made. With them being involved at the top for a number of yers we often overlook them, but this is a team coming into the season after dropping out of the top four and with a new manager in charge. The World Cup took over the majoirty of the summer so new boss Maurizio Sarri hasn’t really had much time to impose himself on the group. Whatever he has done so far has certainly worked though, and they look more like the force of old that we are used to so far this season.

Their main aim and focus will certainly be to get back into the top four, but it would be no surprise to see The Blues take the Europa League seriously. This is something we have seen from Maurizio Sarri in the past with other clubs, and probably represents Chelsea’s best chance of silverware this coming season, they are certainly one of the biggest clubs in the competition at this stage. A lot will depend on who drops into the tournament from the Champions League, but Chelsea right now look as though they have a genuine chance of winning this competition.

Can Chelsea Juggle the Premier League and Europa League?

One thing we have seen in the past with Premier League clubs in the Europa League is that they have struggled to cope with the changes to their schedule. This isn’t an easy competition to play in, and many people understand that, so much so that some people see the Europa League as a distraction, and a meaningless competition. This is Europe’s second tier competition, but still something that is very valuable and worth winning, with the prize of a place in the Champions League added in recent years to try and sweeten the competition for clubs.

One of the biggest question marks surrounding Chelsea going into the start of the competition on Thursday is whether they can cope with the schedule that will be in place due to their participation. The biggest difference to their Premier League schedule will be that whenever they play in the Europa League, their following Premier League game will be played on a Sunday. This isn’t ideal and if the Europa League takes place a week before domestic midweek action it will leave Chelsea playing Thursday/Sunday/Tuesday which is tough on anyone.

Something that has come into play because of the schedule has been that big clubs will rest some of their star players when playing in the Europa League. It seems strange to think that clubs value the competition quite low, so they are happy to do this but we may not see too much of this from The Blues this season. Maurizio Sarri has gone out to win this competition before, fielding strong starting line ups and he could do the same at Chelsea. You only have to look back at the game this weekend to see his thoughts were already on the Europa League. Last Saturday he started Olivier Giroud in the Premier League because he wanted number one striker Alvaro Morata fit and ready for this Europa League game.

I think based on that, and what we have seen in the past from Sarri at other clubs, we will see changes made, but these will be split between the Premier League games around their European trip and the European game itself. He will choose to rest a player or two to play in the Europa League, and also choose to rest a player or two when they are playing in Europe. That should make Chelsea very competitive in the competition, and potentially it will give them the edge over some of the other big clubs in the draw, who look set to rest players on a regular basis in Europe.

The Europa League can be a very tough competition to work out because it is a complete unknown as to who will drop into the competition from the Champions League. However, despite that there is a lot to like about Chelsea going into the tournament and they look set for a very deep run,  with the potential to win it if things go their way. The group stage looks to be an easy task, and importantly they are playing some great football right now, so morale should be high and it is likely that there is even more to come from them as Maurizio Sarri has time to make an impact.

PAOK vs Chelsea Betting Tips

English clubs can face some very daunting away trips in the Europa League, and it is something we see a lot more of than we do in the Champions League. However, a trip over to Greece is relatively normal and a great way for Chelsea to kick start their tilt at this competition. After five wins from their first five games, I expect the Chelsea camp to be buzzing right now, and the players will be really looking forward to going away for a couple of days to play a game together.

I think we will see changes in the Chelsea team, but a good number of first team players are going to be involved here. A full strength Chelsea team would win this game with ease, and I also think that if they play just half of their regular they have enough to win it, which is why I will be backing them here.

PAOK are a standard Europa League team, and while they have a chance of qualifying for the next round, they come up against a team in Chelsea who are seen as potential winners. The Blues look likely to be far too strong for them and even taking into account that Chelsea will rest some players, they look to have more than enough to get by their Greek opponents. We already know that Alvaro Morata will play in this game for Chelsea and on his day he is a top quality striker who will certainly cause a lot of problems for the PAOK defence.

This is one of the early kick offs on Thursday, so make sure you get your bet on before the game begins. I am backing Chelsea to win this game in comfortable fashion, they look set for a good Europa League campaign and I think they are going very deep into the competition, potentially winning it all.

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