After gearing up for the trickiest of tests on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, Enzo Maresca will view Thursday’s Europa Conference League qualifier as a perfect opportunity to showcase his attacking brand of football.

The Blues kickstart their Europa Conference League campaign with a play-off against Swiss club Servette, a minnow when compared to a club with the global exposure and financial firepower of Chelsea. 

Maresca’s provisional 21-man squad raised eyebrows with key names omitted such as Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell, with the former having played a crucial role at the heart of defence during Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat by City.

Reece James is another name set to miss out against the Swiss outfit due to his ongoing hamstring issue, while Marc Cucurella may also join him on the sidelines after appearing to suffer a knee problem during the match-up with Man City. 

While Chelsea are banishing stars from training and excluding high-profile names from their squad, Servette possess a squad of relative unknowns who will be gunning to stage an upset against the London giants.

From financial peril to hosting matches at Euro 2008, Mail Sport takes a deeper look at the Swiss club ahead of what promises to be a battle between David and Goliath. 

No strangers to success 

All eyes will be on the Blues performing against Servette – and understandably the expectation from fans could not be higher, especially given the monstrous  £1.15billion the west London club has spent on new players since Todd Boehly’s arrival at Stamford Bridge.

But Servette should not be discounted from staging an upset. They are a club with 17 national titles and eight Swiss Cups throughout their history, with the most recent honour earning them a spot in the Europa Conference League play-off on Thursday.

While lifting the Swiss Cup last term, Servette also finished third in the top flight behind FC Lugano and runaway champions FC Young Boys. 

Despite failing to lift the Swiss Super League since 1999, their heightened form over the last few seasons demonstrates they are no strangers to success and fully capable of launching a shock against the Blues. 

There will be some in Switzerland cheering on Chelsea, however. 

Servette are a club with no shortage of rivalries, with FC Lausanne-Sport and FC Sion their main football foes in particular.

Battle with the bank 

Founded in 1890, Servette’s recent history is one laced with financial adversity. After fruitful periods of success during the 1990s, the club endured a turbulent time financially during the early 2000s until the 1890 Foundation took full control of the Swiss outfit in 2015.

Initially filing for bankruptcy in 2005, after running debts of over 10million Swiss francs (approximately £9m) and failing to register newly signed players, the club lost several high-profile players to other top clubs in Switzerland. As a result, they dropped down two divisions and ended up being run by the club’s Under-21 side.

By 2006, Servette had reclaimed their place in the second-tier – and eventually won promotion back to the Swiss Pro League in 2011.

Financial problems continued to plague Servette however, with reports circulating that the club had failed to pay their players and fund other expenses. By February 2012, they had filed for bankruptcy a second time.

By contrast, Chelsea have long been viewed as one of the richest clubs in England, with Roman Abramovich bringing a rich era of success at Stamford Bridge before the lucrative arrival of Boehly and Clarke Capital. 

To date, with the capture of Joao Felix, Chelsea have made an astonishing nine summer signings. It remains to be seen whether the Blues’ scattergun transfer approach will pay off in the long-term, let alone in this David vs Goliath battle. 

Maresca has not had an easy start to life in west London and is faced with the enormous task of reforming an underperforming, disjointed squad.

It will be fascinating to see if the new boss opts for consistency of selection or give minutes to others in his bloated squad.  

Ones to watch 

Servette do not have any major injury concerns which will be a much needed boost to the Swiss side vying to prove themselves against the English heavyweights. 

Dereck Kutesa netted a goal in their last outing – a 7-1 romp against Signal FC Bernex-Confignon in the first round of the Swiss Cup. He will carry the main threat having netted three in his last five. 

Alexis Antunes and former France Under-21 international Enzo Crivelli are other key figures in the squad along with defensive midfielder Gael Ondura and forward Julian Von Moos. 

Last season’s top scorer Chris Bedia, who racked up 25 goals in 54 appearances for the club earned a move to Union Berlin earlier in the summer so perhaps they will be less potent in attack. 

No place like home 

While many will view Servette as minnows, their stadium Stade de Geneva is able to host a creditable 30,084 fans. Constructed in 2003, the venue also has the luxury of heated hybrid turf. Stamford Bridge by contrast can only hold around 10,000 more at 40,343. 

Stade de Geneva has also played host to rugby games, making it a versatile money-spinner. The stadium was used during the 2008 Euros and is expected to be used during the Women’s Euros in 2025. 

It will be the Bridge that hosts the first leg, though those Blues fans without a ticket will still have to dig into their pockets to watch it.  

Despite TNT Sport having the European rights to all three continental competitions this year, they won’t be showing the play-off round action on Thursday.

Instead, fans looking to see how Maresca’s men fare will have to subscribe to Chelsea TV, and buy the live stream for £4.99. It will also get you access to watch the second-leg in Switzerland.