Chelsea travel to Russia to face Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday night in their final Champions League group stage fixture and will be aiming for all three points in order to top Group H.
The Blues have already secured their qualification to the last-16 but they remain on level points with second-place Juventus and will want to advance as group winners in the hope of getting a more favourable draw in the next round.
Zenit are unable to qualify for the Last 16 of the competition but their confirmed 3rd placed finish above Malmo in the group means that they will advance to the knockout stages of the Europa League.
They will, however, still be fired up for the visit of Chelsea despite having nothing to play for and will provide a tough test in tough conditions for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who will need to be at the top of their game.
A couple of changes from Saturday’s defeat to West Ham can be expected, but Tuchel will largely want to stick with his strongest side possible for this tie.
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When is Zenit vs Chelsea?
Zenit vs Chelsea will kick-off at 17:45pm on Wednesday, December 8 at the Krestovsky Stadium.
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in September, as Romelu Lukaku’s 69th minute strike was enough to get the Blues off to a winning start in Group H on Matchday 1.
How to watch
The match will be televised on BT Sport 3, while there will also be a live stream service online via the BT Sport app.
Match odds
Zenit vs Chelsea odds with Grosvenor Sport
Zenit 11/2
Draw 10/3
Chelsea 13/25
*odds subject to change
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Team news
This is a dead rubber game for Zenit but the prospect of hosting Chelsea may mean they still go full strength, although they will definitely be without two of their players.
Centre-back Dmitri Chistyakov (suspension) will miss out after receiving a red card in the draw at Malmo last month, while goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk (knee) is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery at the end of November.
Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is expected to start at the back, while 6’6 Russian talisman Artem Dzyuba will pose their main threat up front.
As for Tuchel, he could be without up to six players for this long trip as they are all currently nursing injuries.
Marcos Alonso could potentially return but he is currently being assessed after picking up a lower back injury in the game at West Ham, while Kai Havertz is also a doubt after injuring his ankle at the London Stadium on Saturday and is in a great deal of pain.
Mateo Kovacic (thigh), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), N’Golo Kante (knee) and Ben Chilwell (knee) are all out for the foreseeable future.
