Krasnodar vs Chelsea Match Preview

Krasnodar is first-placed in group E, but that does not mean much right now considering that all four teams have one point. They started the campaign with a 1-1 draw on the road against Rennes which was tough to get, considering how Rennes played much better and dominated them with ball possession and chances created.

Now the rivals they face have even more quality and if that wasn't enough they will have to deal with a long list of missing players with Cabella, Claesson, Markov, Petrov, Stotsky, Wanderson, and da Silva Ferreira, all missing out because of injuries or Covid-19 issues, while Berg, Olsson and Sorokin are questionable and even if they play I don't expect them at their best. It seems like everything points against Krasnodar here and I see a difficult duel ahead of them.

Chelsea, on the other hand, is ranked third after starting the campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sevilla. It was quite a balanced game between the best two teams in this group and after that, they also got another 0-0 draw against Manchester Utd. While they showed good defensive skills managing to keep a clean sheet twice in a row against quality teams, I expect that would be a crucial factor here too. With all their offensive players available, like Werner, Havertz, Pulisich, and Ziyech, I fancy Chelsea to get back on scoring ways. For this duel, they will miss Alonso, Arrizabalaga and Gilmour so all in all they won't suffer too much from this because of their depth.

In conclusion, I think Chelsea can win this match here. They are a way better team than their rivals and now they find them at the worst moment with lots of key players missing. I do not see Chelsea making a false step here. Krasnodar struggled against Rennes and now against Chelsea, they will try to focus on defense as their only option.