Chelsea start their UEFA Champions League title defence with a Group H home fixture against Zenit St. Petersburg in London, while Juventus travel to Malmo, Sweden for their opener. (More Football News)
Still unbeaten at the start of the English Premier League and with returning striker Romelu Lukaku already scoring three goals, Chelsea are a supremely confident side. But Juventus are struggling without Cristiano Ronaldo even though they should qualify from the group.
The Bianconeri have lost two straight in Serie A since Ronaldo went back to Manchester United and overall have earned only one point. Moise Kean, who was brought back to Turin to replace Ronaldo, made a major gaffe in Saturday's 2-1 loss at Napoli.
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Fresh off a two-goal performance for Italy, Kean redirected a Napoli corner back toward his own goal with a header, leading to Kalidou Koulibaly's tap-in for the winner. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has had two braces for Portugal and United, respectively, since he departed Turin.
Head-to-head
Chelsea vs Zenit St. Petersburg: This will be the first meeting between Chelsea and Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League. But Chelsea are unbeaten in six previous games against Russian sides in the tournament, while Zenit are winless in their last seven Champions League games.
Malmos vs Juventus: This is their meeting in the Champions League. Juventus have defeated Malmo 2-0 both times.
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Match and telecast details
Chelsea vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Match: UEFA Champions League 2021-22, Group H match Chelsea and Zenit St. Petersburg
Date: September 15 (Wednesday), 2021
Time: 12:30 AM IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Malmo vs Juventus
Match: UEFA Champions League 2021-22, Group H match Malmo and Juventus
Date: September 15 (Wednesday), 2021
Time: 12:30 AM IST
Venue: Eleda Stadion, Malmo
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Likely XIs
Chelsea vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Havertz; Lukaku.
Zenit: Kerzhakov; Sutormin, Chistyakov, Rakitskiy, Santos; Malcom, Wendel, Kuzyaev, Mostovoy; Azmoun, Dzyuba.
Malmo vs Juventus
Malmo: Diawara; Larsson, Ahmedhodzic, Brorsson, Olsson; Rakip, Innocent; Rieks, Christiansen, Birmancevic; Colak.
Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Chiellini, Sandro; Bentacur, Locatelli, Rabiot; Berbardeschi, Morata, Dybala.
