Chelsea’s penultimate match of the UEFA Conference League league phase requires a 7,000-mile round-trip to Almaty, where the Blues aim to end Astana’s 13-game unbeaten home run in all competitions. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton set the scene for our trip to Kazakhstan...
Never before have the Blues travelled so far to play in a European competition. An eight-hour direct flight from London, the fixture is 1,000 miles further east than Baku, the scene for our resounding 2019 Europa League final victory over Arsenal.
Chelsea make the long trip looking to keep our 100 per cent record in the league phase intact. Only one other side, Legia Warsaw, have won four from four and while we have sealed our progression, a victory in Almaty would ensure us a place in the Round of 16, which takes place in March.
Astana’s domestic league season finished with them as runners-up last month; they ended the campaign an agonising one point behind champions Kairat. With temperatures tilting below freezing, Grigoriy Babayan’s team then lifted the League Cup by beating Jenis 2-0.
The hosts’ own Astana Arena, which is currently being renovated, has a capacity of 30,000, a retractable roof and undersoil heating. When Manchester United visted for a Europa League fixture in 2019, the temperature was -15ºc.
It is not expected to feel quite so cold at the Almaty Ortalyk Stadium, 750 miles from the capital in Kazakhstan’s most populous city, come kick-off. But the temperature will be below -10ºc.
Built in 1958, the roofless all-sports arena is open to the elements and offers a stunning backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Nearby is the highest ice rink in the world, for those travelling supporters interested in a different kind of pre-match entertainment.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea are the Conference League's leading scorers with 18 goals and will look to add to that tally in Kazakhstan. At the other end, in our 2-0 win at Heidenheim last time out, Filip Jorgensen made a remarkable 11 saves – the most ever recorded by a Blues keeper in any game since those records began in 2003.
Enzo Maresca has confirmed several members of his senior squad will remain at Cobham, yet there will be first-team involvement in Almaty and several youngsters from the club's Academy have also been included in the travelling group.
Thus far, six players have started every Conference League game: Jorgensen, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Renato Veiga, Mykhailo Mudryk and Christopher Nkunku. The latter has contributed significantly toward our goal haul, having struck in each of his starts in this competition (7 goals, 2 assists).
Mudryk has hit three goals and matched that with assists in the Conference League this term, but he was ill at the weekend and missed the win over Tottenham.
Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer were not registered in our squad for this stage, Cesare Casadei is suspended following his red card at Heidenheim, and Maresca stated Noni Madueke would not travel with Brentford to come.
Pedro Neto is banned for Sunday's west London derby with the Bees and has travelled to Kazakhstan. The likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hal, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Marc Guiucould were also on the plane and are likely to be involved.
Maresca has said defender Josh Acheampong is likely to start while Samuel Rak-Sakyi and Tyrique George could catch a piece of the action having featured in previous Conference League outings.
The history
This is the first-ever match between Chelsea and any club from Kazakhstan. Astana’s only match-up with English opponents, meanwhile, came in the 2019 Europa League group stage against Manchester United.
They lost 1-0 at Old Trafford but came from behind on their own 4G pitch to beat a very young Red Devils side 2-1.
Conference League regulations
All 36 clubs involved are ranked together. This is the fifth of six fixtures in this phase and the top eight in the final table will advance straight to March’s round of 16. The next 16 must face each other in a play-off round in February, while teams from 25 down are eliminated.
In the event two or more clubs are tied on points after the league stage, rankings will be determined in order, by goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored, number of wins and number of away wins.
The Video Assistant Referee system is used in this competition and a player receiving three yellow cards will serve a one-match suspension.
Know this...
Nkunku is the first Chelsea player to have scored in six consecutive European fixtures.
A third-successive away victory would record Chelsea’s best return in Europe since five wins on the road in a row on the way to winning the Champions League in 2020/21.
Astana’s 10.5 xG against figure is the highest in the competition, above Noah’s 9.3, which was largely built up in our 8-0 victory over the Armenians at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have never previously won all six opening-stage matches in a European competition. The closest we came to perfection was five wins and one draw in Group L of the 2018/19 Europa League, which we went on to win.
Astana (37) have conceded the third-fewest fouls in the Conference League while our next and final opponents of this stage Shamrock Rovers (40) are responsible for the fifth-fewest infringements.