Champions League
2021-12-08 - Zenit St Petersburg vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 8th December 2021 - Kick Off 5:45pm
This game is live on TV
Zenit St Petersburg
Things might have been a little more awkward for Zenit St Petersburg if they had not scored an injury time Penalty in the 1-1 draw with Malmo on Match Day 5. That point has secured a spot in the Last 32 of the Europa League, but that also means Zenit St Petersburg have nothing to lose when they take the field for the last Champions League Group Stage game of the 2021/22 season.
All four points earned in the Group have been earned against Malmo, but Zenit St Petersburg have found the top two teams in the section too much to handle. They do have a big game coming up in the Russian Premier League this weekend before the Winter Break, but Zenit St Petersburg would love to enter that fixture having improved their run of 1 win from their last 5 home Champions League games.
Zenit St Petersburg are unbeaten in 5 games in all competitions since their 4-2 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League, although they have drawn 3 of those 5 games. The side are unbeaten in 4 at home in all competitions, but Zenit St Petersburg's run of 3 successive wins here came to an end in the 2-2 draw with Rostov this past weekend.
Dmitri Chistyakov is suspended having been sent off on Match Day 5. Changes may be made with the game against 2nd placed Dinamo Moscow coming up in the Russian top flight in a few days time.
Chelsea
You are going to have some sticky patches over the course of a ten month season, but the key for all clubs is moving out of them as soon as possible and that is the challenge for Chelsea. They led twice on Saturday at the London Stadium, but Chelsea were eventually beaten 3-2 at West Ham United and have fallen from top spot in the Premier League.
The worry for Chelsea is that they will do the same in the Champions League and end up facing a difficult Last 16 tie in the defence of the trophy they won last season. Matching the Juventus result will be enough to top the section after crushing their Italian opponents on Match Day 5, but it would be a real surprise if anything less than a victory is good enough for Chelsea this week.
Chelsea have won 1 of their last 3 games since beating Juventus 4-0 at home and they are looking to bounce back after seeing their 12 game unbeaten run ended in East London. The Blues had also won 5 away games in a row in all competitions before the defeat to West Ham United.
A host of players could be missing for Chelsea with the likes of Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz dealing with varying degrees of injury.
Head to Head
Chelsea narrowly beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 at home earlier this season.
This is the first time these clubs will be meeting in St Petersburg.
Prediction
The paths through to the Knock Out Stages of the European competitions have all been decided in this Group of the Champions League, although the top two spots are still up for grabs as to the order in which Juventus and Chelsea will go through.
Most have to assume Juventus will beat Malmo at home, so the onus is on Chelsea to head to Russia and secure the three points. Winning the Group is very important, especially with the other three English clubs all winning their own.
It would mean that half of the potential opponents in the Last 16 would not be available for Chelsea if they finish Runners Up and that would seriously increase the possibility of facing potentially Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Last 16.
Thomas Tuchel won't be worrying too much, but he will be looking for a reaction from his team who were beaten 3-2 at West Ham United on Saturday. Individual mistakes were a huge reason for the defeat, while Chelsea are dealing with a number of injuries at a difficult time of the season with matches scheduled to be played every few days over the coming weeks.
Even then, Chelsea should have the quality to beat a Zenit St Petersburg team that may also be distracted. A place in the Europa League has been secured and this weekend Zenit St Petersburg will travel to Dinamo Moscow with top spot in the Russian Premier League up for grabs over the Winter Break.
Zenit St Petersburg have proved difficult to break down even when opposed by the likes of Juventus and Chelsea, but they have lost all 3 of those matches in the Group. Juventus needed a late goal to secure a win here and Chelsea may have to battle hard to do the same.
Before the defeat at West Ham United, Chelsea had won 5 away games in a row in all competitions and they have also won 4 of their last 6 away Champions League games. I think The Blues still have enough quality to edge past a potentially distracted host here and they can win a tight game to top the Group regardless of the outcome in Turin.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Zenit St Petersburg 0-2 Chelsea
