19 October 2021, 09:49 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
F.C. Zenit St. Petersburg takes on Juventus in another Group H fixture, scheduled for kick-off at 20:00 (GMT+1), on Wednesday, October 20. Referee Sandro Schärer (SUI) will be in charge with help coming from the assistant referees, Stephane De Almeida (SUI) and Bekim Zogaj (SUI). Bastian Dankert (GER) will be the VAR.
Preview Zenit Champions League, Oct 20, 2021
Preview F.C. Zenit suffered a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal Tula in the Russian Premier League over the weekend, but remained in first place on the domestic table. On UCL Matchday 2, the Russian side thrashed ten-men Malmö FF, 4-0, on home soil. The victory left the Russian outfit in 3rd place with three points after 1W, 0D, & 1L. Despite back-to-back defeats, Zenit has three victories in five games across all competitions: WWWLL. On Wednesday, manager Sergey Semak could appear with the 3—4—2—1 formation, leaving Artem Dzyuba at the top of the design. Dzyuba is the joint-top scorer for the club in the Russian top-flight division with a haul of five goals alongside Sardar Azmoun and the attacking midfielder, Aleksandr Erokhin. On availability, Zenit could be without Magomed Ozdoev, who is sidelined with a sideband strain to the knee ahead of this double-header against the Old Lady. Claudinho made an appearance over the weekend in the defeat to Arsenal Tula as a half-time substitute. The 24-year-old Brazilian is expected to be available for this fixture against Juventus, having been ruled out since UCL Matchday 2.
Preview Juventus Champions League, Oct 20, 2021
Preview After sweeping Malmö FF aside with a 3-0 win on UEFA Champions League Matchday 1, the Old Lady picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Chelsea on Matchday 2 despite being without several key players. Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala were missing, with Juve having lost the pair to a plague of thigh injuries in the preceding weekend against Sampdoria. Juventus return to the star-studded circle of champions following the 1-0 win over Roma at the weekend, courtesy of a lone strike from Moise Kean (16’). Juventus has five victories in a row across all competitions: WWWWW. In addition, the Italian side is unbeaten in eight fixtures against Russian opposition. Juve sits at the top of Group H with 6 points after back-to-back UCL victories: 2W, 0D, & 0L. A 4—4—2 formation with Moise Kean and Federico Chiesa in attack is expected when the Old Lady returns on UCL Matchday 3. Dybala hasn’t earned a minute on the pitch since suffering the muscle injury in the game against La Samp. Meanwhile, Álvaro Morata came on as a substitute in the game against Roma and is expected to be available for Allegri on Wednesday. Arthur also made a cameo in the game against Roma at the weekend, - his first appearance this season following surgery before the start of the season.