Zenit St Petersburg v Chelsea predictions: Visiting defence should stand firm

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Zenit St Petersburg v Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 3, 5.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea to win 1-0
1pt 13-2 bet365, Coral

Chelsea to win 2-0
1pt 13-2 general

Team news

Zenit St Petersburg
Centre-back Dmitri Chistyakov is suspended following his red card against Malmo. Wilmar Barrios could move into defence and goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk is still recovering from knee surgery.

Chelsea
Kai Havertz and Marcos Alonso are doubtful while Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell and Mateo Kovacic are sidelined.

Match preview

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy had a rare shocker in Saturday's 3-2 Premier League defeat at West Ham but his defensive colleagues should be trusted to bounce back on their Champions League trip to Zenit St Petersburg.

The defending European champions have won four of their five group matches to nil this season, opening their campaign with a 1-0 home victory over Zenit.

A similar scoreline in St Petersburg would secure top spot in the group for the Blues ahead of Juventus, who were brushed aside 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on matchday five.

Juve's Federico Chiesa scored the only goal that Chelsea have conceded in this season's competition and keeper Mendy has faced only five shots on target in the Blues' five European assignments in 2021-22.

Their defensive solidity was the key to last season's Champions League triumph, when they conceded only two goals in seven knockout matches under Thomas Tuchel, and they should stand firm against Zenit despite some recent wobbles in the Premier League.

The defeat at West Ham, where Mendy needlessly gave away a penalty before being beaten by a misdirected cross from Hammers full-back Arthur Masuaku, was preceded by a fortunate 2-1 win at struggling Watford and a 1-1 draw at home to Michael Carrick's Manchester United.

Liverpool and Manchester City's relentless pace means Chelsea are now out to 5-1 to win the league but they remain a cut above most European opponents, as they showed against Juve last time out.

Given the depth of Chelsea's squad, Tuchel cannot use injuries as an excuse but there is no doubt his job has been made harder by the absences of key players such as N'Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku.

France midfielder Kante remains sidelined, so the resurgent Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set for another start in the centre of the park, but Lukaku, who scored the winner in the home game against Zenit, should be fit to lead the line.

Chelsea and Juve have dominated Group H, each taking 12 points from their first five matches, while Zenit earned a crack at the Europa League thanks to a 4-0 home win and a 1-1 away draw against bottom club Malmo.

The Russians have scored 18 goals in their last four home league matches, including a 7-1 rout of Spartak Moscow, but before that run they lost 1-0 at home to Juventus, conceding in the 86th minute.

Zenit managed only two shots on target in that game, one of them a speculative effort from distance by Claudinho, and even a depleted Chelsea side should be confident of keeping the home side quiet.

Key stat

Chelsea have won to nil in nine of their 12 Champions League matches under Thomas Tuchel.

Inside info

Zenit St Petersburg

Penalty taker Claudinho
Free-kick wizardYaroslav Rakitskyi
Set-piece aerial threat Dejan Lovren
Card magnetWilmar Barrios

Chelsea

Penalty taker Romelu Lukaku
Free-kick wizard Hakim Ziyech
Set-piece aerial threat Antonio Rudiger
Card magnet Antonio Rudiger

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