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SportsPosted at: May 20 2025 8:06PM


Chelsea manager Maresca not happy with Real Betis fixture change

London, May 20 (UNI) Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on Tuesday said he is "not happy" that opponents Real Betis have been given two days of extra preparation for next week's Conference League final.
La Liga has accepted a request from Betis to bring their final league match against Valencia - originally scheduled for Sunday - forward to Friday evening (20:00 BST).
Chelsea, by contrast, travel to Nottingham Forest - who, like the Blues, are chasing Champions League football - on Sunday, three days before the final in Wroclaw, Poland on May 28.
Sunday's final round of Premier League games must all kick off at the same time (16:00 BST) to prevent any side gaining an unfair advantage over their rivals.
But Maresca said: "I'm not happy, 100%, you cannot allow another team 48 hours more when you play a European final, the BBC reported.
"Either we play Friday or they play Sunday like us. I don't know if it is from La Liga, the Premier League or Uefa, but if you ask people in this room if it is normal to play a final where another team has 48 hours more to prepare, it is not normal."
The Italian has confirmed that back-up goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen will start in the final, while Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu remain injury doubts.
"Filip Jorgensen is going to play the final because he played all the competition. It is unfair if you arrive at the final and he is not playing the final," said Maresca.
"This game will be Filip plus 10 players, I do not know which the other 10 will be, but Filip is going to play because he deserves to play.
"At the moment, Guiu and Nkunku start to take part in our sessions, but are still not 100%."
Chelsea must finish in the top five of the Premier League to qualify for next season's Champions League. If they finish sixth or win the Conference League, they qualify for the league phase of the Europa League.
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