Zenit meets Chelsea in a match of the group stage of the Champions League. The champion of Russia fulfilled perhaps the maximum that could be achieved in a group with Juventus and the current winner of the trophy Chelsea. In the battle for the third position Zenit had no competition, especially after Malmö left defeated 4:0 from his visit to Russia. Two weeks ago, Zenit drew 1:1 with the Swedish champions, but even if they had lost by a small margin, they would have regained the right to play in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League.
After the first rotation of the teams, it was clear that Chelsea needed mandatory victories in the remaining three games if they want to finish first in Group H. Juventus beat the Blues with a minimum result of 1:0 in Turin, which made the difference between the two teams . However, Chelsea’s response was eloquent and the resounding 4:0 victory allowed them to equalize the Bianconeri in the standings with 12 points, but better performance in direct clashes. Assuming that Juventus will almost certainly beat Malmö, Chelsea must also leave with three points from Gazprom Arena to maintain their advantage.
Judging by the results of Zenit and their performance in the tournament, Chelsea should have no problems, but it is unlikely to achieve a convincing victory. So far, only Juventus has scored more than one goal to the Russian champion in the 4:2 defeat at their Allianz Stadium. In St. Petersburg, Zenit lost by a minimum of 1:0 against Chelsea, as well as the same result against the Bianconeri in Russia.
What will give some confidence to Thomas Tuchel and his players is the fact that Zenit can afford to lose on Wednesday. Moreover, this weekend he will have a difficult visit to Dynamo Moscow, which is currently emerging as a major competitor in the battle for gold medals in Russia. Chelsea will be satisfied with minimal success with 1 or 2 goals. The Londoners have problems with injured players, and the month will be long with matches every three days, so the Blues will certainly want to save their strength.
