Guus Hiddink at Goodison Park
Guus Hiddink wants to give youth a chance Getty Images

Chelsea travel to the Liberty Stadium to take on Swansea City on Saturday (9 April) as the Blues look to end the season on a high and finish as close as possible to a European spot. The defending Champions are 10 points adrift of a place in the top four and with only seven games left in the season, it is all but granted that the Blues will miss out on Europe's elite club competition for the first time in a decade.

Where to watch

Kick-off is set for 3pm BST. Highlights of the game will be on BBC Match of the Day on BBC One from 10:20pm BST. Live commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

Overview

Swansea are on the cusp of beating relegation, currently on 37 points, and need only three more to all but confirm their place in the Premiership next season. Manager Francesco Guidolin has had a positive impact since taking over at the Liberty Stadium and the Italian will be hoping that they can end their miseries with a win over Chelsea, who have been unbeaten since Guus Hiddink took charge.

Swansea have had a good outing in March, beating Norwich City and Arsenal, which saw get out of the relegation cat-fight and their never say attitude was again on show last weekend when they came back from going 2-0 down against Stoke City to steal a point. Should they stay up this season, it will be a remarkable achievement for Guidolin, whose contract expires after the end of this season.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have little to play for till the rest of the campaign, with a top four finish all but out of the equation. However, they may still finish in the top six and confirm themselves a place in the Europa league for next season, with Antonio Conte having been confirmed as the new manager to take over from Hiddink at Stamford Bridge next season.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games, having won seven and drawn eight of the same, which has dragged them out of the relegation zone. However, they are still 10th in the table and Hiddink will be looking to give his young guns a chance to prove themselves before the end of the season so that they can be handed a chance when the team comes out to challenge for the title in the upcoming campaign.

What managers say

Francesco Guidolin: "We can change our history, we have that possibility. Chelsea are a good, important team and they have not lost under Hiddink. But I know we can play well and play with aggressiveness, courage and character and without any fear. What happens with the result, I don't know, but we can play like this and it gives us this possibility It is possible to do this in the Premier League. Here it is more difficult for the top teams because every match is open, every match is more difficult. In Italy it is more tactical but here I can see that the smaller teams can beat the top ones. It is very different. But I did beat the top teams when I was in Serie A, with Vincenza, Bologna, Palermo and of course with Udinese. It is possible."

Guus Hiddink: "We'll see (who plays). We had only a few strikers in December and January because apart from Diego Costa they were all injured. Traore wasn't strongly knocking on the door at that time, and now we have strikers who must compete for the position. Who will start at Swansea? You will see at Swansea."

Betting odds (betfair)

  • Swansea Win: 5/2
  • Draw: 23/10
  • Chelsea Win: 11/10

Team news

Swansea

Probable XI: Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Naughton; Cork, Britton; Ayew, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Gomis

Chelsea

Probable XI: Courtois; Rahman, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Mikel; Willian, Oscar, Kenedy; Pedro