Chelsea vs Krasnodar prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Champions League 2020-21
Chelsea host FC Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge in an inconsequential UEFA Champions League Group E clash on Tuesday.
The Blues are assured of topping the group after their win in Sevilla last week, which was headlined by Olivier Giroud's sensational four-goal haul.
Krasnodar also got themselves a big win last week when they beat Rennes 1-0 thanks to a goal from Marcus Berg. That goal meant that they assured themselves of a place in the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League.
Chelsea have been in sparkling form recently, and continued that with an excellent 3-1 win over a tough Leeds United side on Saturday evening.
With top spot in Group E assured, Lampard is set to rotate his pack, as he juggles his squad around in the most congested period of the season.
Krasnodar won 5-0 against Rotor over the weekend, and will be itching to finish their Champions League commitments for the season on a high.
Chelsea vs Krasnodar Head-to-Head
Chelsea and Krasnodar have faced each other only once before, and that was in the previous game between these two teams in Russia.
Chelsea won that game 4-0, scoring three goals in the last 14 minutes of the game.
Chelsea form guide: W-W-D-W-W
Krasnodar form guide: W-W-L-L-W
Chelsea vs Krasnodar Team News
Hakim Ziyech picked up what looked like a hamstring injury during Chelsea's weekend Premier League win against Leeds United. With top spot in the group already assured, Lampard is set to heavily rotate his squad, with a congested run of Premier League fixtures looming on the horizon.
Injured: Hakim Ziyech
Suspended: None
Defenders Dmitri Stotskiy and Sergey Petrov are still injured, and will miss this game for FC Krasnodar.
Injured: Dmitri Stotskiy, Sergey Petrov
Suspended: None
Chelsea vs Krasnodar Predicted XI
Chelsea Predicted XI (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Emerson Palmieri; Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Billy Gilmour; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic
Krasnodar Predicted XI (4-4-2): Matvei Safonov; Igor Smolnikov, Alyaksandr Martynovich, Yegor Sorokin, Cristian Ramirez; Wanderson, Ruslan Kambolov, Tonny Vilhena, Viktor Claesson; Marcus Berg, Ari
Chelsea vs Krasnodar Prediction
Even though Lampard is set to bring in a number of fresh players for this game, Chelsea should still have enough quality to see off Krasnodar.
Some of the fringe players will also be hungry to show Lampard that they have it in them to challenge for a regular starting spot.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Krasnodar