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Chelsea will be looking to secure top spot in Group H of the UEFA Champions League as they travel to take on Zenit St Petersburg.
Zenit St Petersburg played out a 1-1 draw in their latest Champions League outing to ensure they're going straight to the UEFA Europa League after the group stages. The Russian outfit are getting eliminated in the group stage of Europe's most elite competition for the third successive time.
Zenit are currently unbeaten in their last five games across all competitions. They registered a 2-0 win over CSKA Moscow before settling for a 2-2 draw with FC Rostov in their latest Russian Premier League encounters.
Zenit are sitting at the top of the league table and have a showdown with second placed Dynamo Moscow on Sunday. Sergei Semak's men will want to put some breathing room between themselves and the chasing pack.
But for now, they will be hoping to make life difficult for Chelsea the way they did when they visited Stamford Bridge in their opening Group H game. Romelu Lukaku scored the winner for the Blues but it could easily have been a very frustrating night for Thomas Tuchel's men.
Chelsea have looked a little shaky in recent weeks. A few glaring individual errors have caused them to stumble. They relinquished a one-goal lead to lose 3-2 against London rivals West Ham on Saturday in their latest Premier League outing.
They were leading 2-1 when the teams went inside for the half-time break but the Hammers hit back and Chelsea were simply outplayed in the second 45. Tuchel will be hoping for a response from his men after slipping to third in the Premier League table.
Zenit St Petersburg vs Chelsea Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Zenit St Petersburg and Chelsea have clashed just once so far and that was in the corresponding fixture this season. Chelsea won the game 1-0.
- Zenit St Petersburg have won both of their home games against English opponents so far. They beat Bradford City 1-0 in 2000 in the Intertoto Cup and Liverpool 2-0 in the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League.
- Chelsea have played three away games against Russian opponents. They have won and kept cleansheets in all three of those games.
- The game against Chelsea will be Zenit St Petersburg's 200th European game. They will become the only second Russian club to reach the milestone after Spartak Moscow.
Zenit St Petersburg vs Chelsea Prediction
Chelsea have more to play for here. Zenit have nothing at stake as they're headed for the Europa League regardless of the result. The Blues will want to finish as group toppers. Tuchel will also want his players to respond after the 3-2 loss to West Ham United over the weekend.
Chelsea will field a strong team and are very likely to go home with all three points here.
Prediction: Zenit St Petersburg 1-2 Chelsea
Zenit St Petersburg vs Chelsea Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Chelsea
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
