Shamrock Rovers are a club based in Tallaght, South Dublin, and they are coming to London to take on Chelsea FC. Shamrock is the most successful football team in Republic of Ireland history, but they’re in the third tier of UEFA competition this season- the Conference League. Shamrock Rovers are major underdogs here, but you know they’ll give it all they’ve got, and more on Thursday night.
After all, an Irish team from Dublin, taking on a big money, huge brand name English team, from London to boot?
Chelsea FC vs Shamrock Rovers FYIs
Competition: UEFA Europa Conference League Matchday 6 of 6
Kickoff: Thurs Dec. 19, 8pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Chelsea Preview Content: Team News League Title Contender Analysis Starting XI Prediction
UECL Position, Form: Chelsea 1st, 15 pts, GD +17, WWWWW Shamrock Rovers 6th, 9pts +4 GD, DWWDW
The history of geopolitics that underscore this matchup should make it all the more fiercely contested. However Chelsea are strongly favored for a reason, they are perfect in UECL play so far, and as such top the competition’s table.
And they’ve done it despite playing their B team, which they will again here.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Shamrock Rovers
Filip Jorgensen; Harvey Vale, Axel Disasi, Josh Acheampong, Marc Cucurella; Cesare Casadei, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall; Tyrique George, Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku; Marc Guiu
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.