Chelsea to face deadly -15C temperatures at Zenit for Champions League clash

Chelsea will be forced to battle icy -15C temperatures as they take on Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday evening.

The Blues will be just that, blue, as they travel to Russia for their final Champions League group stage game.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will need a result, too, with top spot on the line, according to The Sun.

Chelsea currently sit level on 12 points with Juventus going into the match.

But fortunately, they won’t need to wrap up in gloves and base layers, as the stadium temperature will be a balmy 20C.

The West Londoners will arrive to a snowy, icy St Petersburg this week – with temperatures dipping as low as -15C this week.

read also:Rangnick engages more technical hands ahead C/league clash
Worse yet, the highest temperature on Wednesday is a bracing -12C.

However, when they step into the stadium, they’ll be able to shed their winter layers.

That’s because the £700million Krestovsky Arena – also known as the Gazprom Stadium – will close its roof and control the temperature at a comfortable 20C.

The temperature swings will be just one more problem for Tuchel to combat this week.

On the back of the 3-2 loss at West Ham – having led twice – the Blues are in the midst of an injury crisis.

Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso are both injured, with Saul Niguez a shock option to start at left-wing-back.

Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are also out, with Jorginho a real injury worry – meaning Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley could be forced to start in midfield.

And Tuchel could also rotate his defensive options, with Kepa Arrizabalaga replacing Edouard Mendy, as well as Cesar Azpilicueta and Malang Sarr coming into the team.