Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski will take charge of Chelsea’s Champions League opener against Zenit St Petersburg tonight.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are the reigning champions after defeating Manchester City 1-0 in last season’s final.

The Blues have made a fine start to the Premier League campaign with three wins from their first four matches of the season. Chelsea also held on to secure a draw with 10 men at Liverpool.

Russian champions Zenit have also made a strong start to the season and are top of the table after seven games.

Frankowski took charge of a Champions League group stage match for the first time last season when he oversaw a meeting between Stade Rennais and Sevilla, who happened to be in Chelsea’s group.

The 34-year-old served as a fourth official at Euro 2020 this summer.

Tuchel has suggested that Ben Chilwell could be in line for this first start of the season, but N’Golo Kante is a doubt and Christian Pulisic is out for the Group H clash.

Mason Mount could also return for Chelsea after he was rested for Saturday’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa, which saw Romelu Lukaku score twice on his return to Stamford Bridge.