Chelsea hope to keep their 100 per cent record in the Conference League phase intact.

Legia Warsaw are the only other team to have won four from four and a victory over Astana secure a place in the Round of 16 for the Blues.

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.

According to club historians, never before have Chelsea 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, where they triumphed in a resounding 2019 Europa League final victory over Arsenal.

“Probably, yes,” said Enzo Maresca when asked if he intends to hand out any debuts to younger players in Kazakhstan.

“He’s in the squad, probably he’ll play from the start. With Josh, it’s clear, we all love Josh. The club loves Josh, I love Josh, we are trying to find an agreement with the player, we are close, we are almost there. We’ll see.”

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.

The 18-year-old is one of the most highly-rated talents coming out of the Cobham, though the defender has played just once this season amid uncertainty over his future.

Enzo Maresca should utilise his huge squad and make a heap of changes for this game with Chelsea the heavy favourites to go on and win. Here’s how we see the two teams lining-up today:

Astana XI: Condric; Bartolec, Kazukolovas, Kalaica, Vorogovskiy; Ebong, Amanovic; Tomasov, Gripshi, Camara; Geoffrey.

Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Veiga; Rak-Sakyi, Dyer; George, Dewsbury-Hall, Nkunku; Guiu.

Astana have not played for nearly a fortnight and are not thought to have any fresh injury concerns.

Enzo Maresca has spared most of his squad the trip to Kazakhstan, with Chelsea set to have a youthful look. Josh Acheampong is set to start while Ato Ampah, Harrison McMahon, Kaiden Wilson, Richard Olise and Harrison Murray-Campbell are among others to have travelled hoping for an opportunity.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage from 3pm GMT. Subscribers can stream via discovery+.

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Astana vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 3.30pm GMT at the Almaty Central Stadium, which is being used with Astana’s regular ground under renovation.