‘For sure’… Enzo Maresca names the Chelsea player he will definitely start in the Conference League final

Even though Chelsea have another game to play before the Conference League final, Blues manager Enzo Maresca has been previewing his side’s European showdown against Real Betis.

The Blues are currently preparing for Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest on the final day of the Premier League season. If Chelsea win at the City Ground this weekend, they will qualify for next year’s Champions League.

Enzo Maresca’s target was Champions League qualification during his first year as the head coach at Stamford Bridge, so he’s one positive result away from achieving that.

Afterwards, Chelsea face a very quick turnaround for the Conference League final against Spanish outfit Real Betis.

Real Betis’ advantage over Chelsea is that they play their final La Liga match on Friday night, so they will get a couple of days extra to prepare for the European final.

Enzo Maresca confirms Filip Jorgensen will start vs Real Betis

During his pre-match press conference for the Conference League final, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, Enzo Maresca confirmed that Filip Jorgensen will start in goal against Real Betis next week.

Maresca said via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel: “Filip is going to play the final. He played all the competition, so it’s unfair now you arrive at the final and [don’t play]. For the Betis game, it will be Filip plus 10 players. I don’t know the other 10, but for sure Filip is going to play because he deserves to play that game.”

Maresca has rotated quite heavily in the Conference League campaign en route to the final, so it’ll be interesting to see how strong he goes with the starting XI against Betis.

We view it as very good news that Jorgensen, 23, will be the starting goalkeeper for the cup final. It would’ve been extremely cruel to drop him in Wroclaw, Poland.

In general, the young shot-stopper has performed very well in Europe to help the Blues reach the final with relative ease. In fact, Swedish media praised Filip Jorgensen after his display against Djurgarden in the semi-finals.

We would also love to see midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 26, start against Betis after playing a pivotal role in Chelsea’s efforts in the Conference League.

A big game for Filip Jorgensen

Jorgensen ultimately lost out this season to teammate Robert Sanchez in the battle for Chelsea’s No 1 position, but it can still be a decent first year for him in English football if it finishes with lifting a trophy.

Chelsea are planning a full goalkeeper review this summer to assess every gloveman on their books, including Jorgensen.

If we’re looking ahead to the 2025/26 campaign, we could picture another year of Jorgensen as the back-up goalkeeper in the squad.