Chelsea face extraordinary atmosphere as football takes backseat with George Baldock tribute

Chelsea's match in Athens tonight will be a strange and extraordinary occasion. The Conference League clash will be the first time Panathinaikos have played at home since the tragic passing of George Baldock.

At the age of 31, Baldock passed away earlier this month at his home in Athens. Baldock had joined Panathinaikos in the summer after spending seven years with Sheffield United.

Panathinaikos are set to pay tribute this evening in what will be their first home match since the death. There are posters planted around the Athens Olympic Stadium with a picture of Baldock's No.32 shirt, with the message: "There's a starman waiting in the sky".

A tribute is set to be held around 20 minutes before kick-off in the UEFA Conference League match, as well as a minute's silence in respect to the former Greece international. Both sets of players will wear black armbands out of respect.

Facundo Pellistri, now at Panathinaikos after joining from Manchester United in the summer transfer window, paid tribute to Baldock on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Pellistri said, with an anguished look on his face: "This is a really hard situation, for us what happened with George Baldock was really sad.

"It has not affected only us as teammates or the club but the whole country. We are going to continue our struggle for the championship because George, who is not with us, is looking at us from the skies and he would like to have seen the team gain in the championship.

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"We are going to do everything for him as his teammates and his team. Winning the championship to dedicate to him."

The atmosphere at the Athens Olympic Stadium on Wednesday was strange - and understandably so. On the walk to the ground, several posters could be seen with Baldock's shirt present, a reminder that Thursday night's game was going to be pretty extraordinary.

Pellistri would have known Baldock would be on the agenda but as soon as the former Manchester United winger heard his name in an English question, that he then answered in Spanish before being translated, there was a look of despair on his face. These are his mates that have to play without their friend just over two weeks after the tragic news was announced.

Diego Alonso, the Panathinaikos manager, added: "It is very painful and we are very sad about the passing of George. We are living 15 very hard days, we are still mourning this loss.

"I wouldn't like to enter into details because this is not correct at this time, but I can tell you two things. The first is respect. The second thing is that our team, all of us, dedicate the whole season to the blessed memory of George Baldock."

A busy pre-match press conference - something that would have always been the case with Chelsea in town but there was an added element of significance to this one. From Pellistri and Alonso's comments, the best thing from a Panathinaikos perspective would be to do Baldock proud on the pitch against the tournament's favourites.

take on Panathinaikos this evening in match day two of the Conference League. The atmosphere was always going to be loud, but with such emotion following Baldock's death, it is expected to be a really special night in Athens.