Zenit vs Chelsea
Champions League
Date: Wednesday, 8 December 2021
Kick-off at 17:45 UK / 18:45 CET
Venue: Gazprom Arena.
Zenit will welcome Chelsea to the Gazprom Arena this Wednesday evening as they are set to wrap up their group stage fixtures.
The result would not change things for the hosts in terms of progress in the tournament. As they have been knocked out of the UCL and will enter the round of 32 of the Europa League.
As long as Juventus do not gain more points than Chelsea in their fixture against Malmo, the visitors should progress to the knockouts as the team in the first position.
Read our Preview, Predictions, and Betting Tips with Analysis here.
Zenit vs Chelsea Head-to-head
- Their only previous fixture ended 1-0 in favour of the hosts at Stamford Bridge in September.
- Zenitchiki has won 4 and lost 4 in 8 games against English opponents.
- The Londoners have won 7 games and have lost once in 9 games against Russian clubs.
- CFC have won all but one of their 4 matches in Russia.
Analysis
While things could have been much better for the Zeniters over the past few weeks it certainly could have been much worse. They have registered just 4 wins since the start of October. Those wins came against Nizhny and Moscow clubs CSKA, Spartak and Dinamo.
They are currently top of the Russian Premier League 2 points clear of 2nd place Dinamo Moscow.
Things were smooth sailing for the Blues until recently. Having dropped points at home against Manchester United towards the end of last month they lost against West Ham on the road in a 5 goal thriller this Saturday.
That loss has dragged them down to third in the English Premier League behind City and Liverpool.
Zenit vs Chelsea Prediction
Chelsea has delivered excellent performances over the course of the season both in this tournament and domestically. Disregarding their fixture in Turin where they narrowly lost out they have delivered wins albeit in low scoring games in the UCL.
However, with the backing off of the home support, the Russian outfit should make it challenging for the visitors. I am expecting 3 or more goals in a closely fought Chelsea win.
The hosts have scored in all but their fixture against Juventus this campaign in home games since November 2019. Hence both teams are likely to get on the scoresheet.