Astana vs Chelsea LIVE! Conference League match stream, latest score and goal updates today

Astana vs Chelsea - LIVE!

Chelsea must quickly adapt to unusual circumstances as they take on Astana in the Conference League this afternoon. The Blues have made the eight-hour flight to Kazakhstan and will play in temperatures that are expected to drop below minus-ten degrees, with the time difference making it a strangely early kick-off time for fans back home.

Enzo Maresca’s side have been too good for this competition so far, winning all four matches and scoring 18 goals in the process. A top-eight finish, one that will secure a place in the last-16, feels close to wrapped up already, with a home clash against Shamrock Rovers to come.

Chelsea have left many of their first-team stars in London, with a dozen academy prospects brought in to bolster the squad. Josh Acheampong makes his full debut, with a contract stand-off now over, while Michael Olise’s brother Richard is among those on the bench. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!

Astana vs Chelsea latest news

• Kick-off: 3:30pm GMT | Almaty Central Stadium

• How to watch: TNT Sports

• Chelsea team news: Acheampong and Rak-Sakyi start

• Standard Sport prediction

Astana 0-0 Chelsea

15:39 , Matt Verri

8 mins: Neto in behind, lovely ball inside the Astana defence.

Chops onto his left foot, tries to drag the finish inside the near post but Seysen is down well to save.

Astana 0-0 Chelsea

15:35 , Matt Verri

4 mins: Free-kick taken short, George is allowed to drive into the box.

Works it onto his right foot, space for the shot and it’s curled wide of the far post.

Can confirm the Astana goalkeeper is very much still wearing his beanie.

Astana 0-0 Chelsea

15:34 , Matt Verri

3 mins: Chelsea dominating the ball already, as you’d expect.

Astana sitting in, resisting the urge to press and warm themselves up. Very admirable.

Chukwuemeka with a sharp turn just outside the Astana area, free-kick as he’s tripped.

KICK-OFF!

15:31 , Matt Verri

We’re up and running!

15:30 , Matt Verri

The Astana goalkeeper is wearing a wooly hat and he does not have the look of a man who plans on taking it off.

Disasi cannot get the handshakes done quick enough, can’t be standing around for too long.

Would do well to find 22 players looking more miserable with life.

Trust in the teenagers!

15:27 , Matt Verri

Enzo Maresca turning to youth tonight...

Here we go...

15:24 , Matt Verri

Players will be in the tunnel in the next couple of minutes.

Sure they’re all absolutely desperate to go back outside and take of their tracksuit tops...

Chelsea boss not concerned by temperature

15:16 , Matt Verri

Maresca has no real interest in talking about the temperature either.

He’s been asked ahead of kick-off about whether the conditions, dropping below -10C, could have an impact on the game.

“We have to be ready,” is the response with a smile.

Maresca plays down favourite tag

15:06 , Matt Verri

Enzo Maresca was asked yesterday if Chelsea are favourites to win this competition.

Yes, is the answer, but he opted for something a bit more neutral.

Maresca said: "I've said many times already about this competition; the main target is to get to the next stage, and then the next one.

“Then when we achieve the next one, the target is to get to the next one. I don't like to think about four or five months ahead."

Acheampong nears new Chelsea contract

14:53 , Matt Verri

Josh Acheampong is one of the most highly-rated young talents to emerge from the Chelsea academy in recent seasons, but has recently been frozen out over a contact dispute.

The full-back has 18 months left on his existing deal and the Blues are keen for him to commit his future.

In a bid to force the issue, the club told Acheampong he would not be considered for selection while the stand-off continued and he has not been part of a first-team squad since coming off the bench in the September’s Carabao Cup tie against Barrow.

The 18-year-old was also left out of the club’s U21 side for the best part of three months until returning to the fold against Derby at the end of the November.

While no agreement has yet been reached over a new contract, negotiations are heading in the right direction and Acheampong has recently been reintegrated into Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad.

The Chelsea boss said yesterday: “With Josh it’s quite clear. We all love Josh. The club loves Josh. I love Josh. And we are trying to find an agreement with the players. We are close. We are almost there.”

In the building!

14:42 , Matt Verri

Here’s a look inside the stadium with just under an hour to go until kick-off.

Axel Disasi was speaking yesterday about wearing two pairs of gloves - think we might be a bit beyond that stage.

Felix absence offers opportunity

14:36 , Matt Verri

Joao Felix’s unplanned absence paved the way for one more youngster to slot into Enzo Maresca’s team this afternoon and it’s Samuel Rak-Sakyi who gets the nod to make his first Chelsea start, writes Malik Ouzia.

With Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George are also in the lineup, it’s three Cobham graduates.

Two Chelsea debutants

14:29 , Matt Verri

Big occasion for Samuel Rak-Sakyi and Josh Acheampong, who make their full debuts for Chelsea.

Tyrique George also starts, while it’s a very, very inexperienced bench.

Of those named as substitutes for this match, Harvey Vale is the only with a senior appearance for the Blues.

Astana team news

14:26 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Seisen, Bartolec, Kalaica, Kazukolovas, Vorogovskiy, Ebonh, Chinedu, Tomasov, Marochkin, Camara, Amanovic

Subs: Zarutskiy, Condric, Bystrov, Kuat, Ahanonu, Beisebekov, Osei, Astanov, Basmanov, Gripshi, Karimov, Zhaksylyk

Chelsea team news

14:21 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Jorgensen; Acheampong, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga; Rak-Sakyi, Dewsbury-Hall, Chukwuemeka; Neto, Guiu, George

Subs: Bergstrom, Merrick, Dyer, Vale, Olise, Ampah, Murray-Campbell, Wilson, Mheuka

Stand by!

14:16 , Matt Verri

Should be getting all the team news in the next couple of minutes.

Will be very interesting to see how many youngsters Maresca throws in from the start...

Chelsea youngsters out to shine in Kazakhstan

14:06 , Matt Verri

No fewer than a dozen academy products have been drafted in to bolster the Chelsea squad.

Here’s what you need to know about them...

Richard Olise

Two nights after brother Michael was tearing it up for Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the younger Olise will be hoping for his own taste of European action.

Now 20, the right-back joined Chelsea at the age of eight and, unlike his brother - who also played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Reading at youth level - has continued his development at Cobham.

Kaiden Wilson

Bristolian was spotted playing in an U14 tournament in his hometown and invited to join the Chelsea academy.

A key part of the U18 side that finished top of the Premier League South last season, has since made the step up to U21 level and scored his first goal in last month’s win over Derby.

Read our full piece here!

Stage is set!

13:51 , Matt Verri

It looks... cold.

Inside Chelsea's trip to Kazakhstan

13:42 , Matt Verri

On Wednesday morning at Cobham, Maresca was putting his squad through their paces in conditions that soon came to feel balmy.

This afternoon, Chelsea will step out to face Kazakhstani side Astana in temperatures that could plummet to as low as -11 degrees.

It could, believe it or not, have been worse. One forecast had temperatures in the city of Astana itself hitting lows of -18 degrees this week, but the game will instead be played 1,200km away in Almaty, while the hosts’ main stadium undergoes renovations.

“We just have to be ready,” said defender Axel Disasi, who has the new Netflix miniseries Senna downloaded to see him through the journey. “Put two pairs of gloves on and compete in the game because at the end we just have to fight and keep this first-place.”

Chelsea flew from Gatwick following training at 2pm on Wednesday afternoon, with the eight-hour flight heading across mainland Europe, over the Black and Caspian Seas and into Kazakhstan via the airspace of Turkmenistan and neighbouring Uzbekistan.

The so-called ‘Middle Corridor’ route avoids both the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the north and those raging in the Middle East to the south.

Almaty is five hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, meaning Chelsea did not land on Kazakh soil until 3am local time. However, the Blues are planning to keep their players on English time in a bid minimise disruption.

More on that here!

Chelsea squad in full

13:32 , Matt Verri

Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom, Max Merrick

Defenders: Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Josh Acheampong, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Richard Olise, Kaiden Wilson

Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Kiano Dyer, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Harvey Vale

Forwards: Pedro Neto, Ato Ampah, Tyrique George, Marc Guiu, Shumaira Mheuka

Standard Sport prediction

13:24

Chelsea will be confident of extending their perfect Conference League record, even with a youthful and rotated side.

The temperatures will ensure it is not a comfortable night for the Blues, regardless of the result, but they should prove too strong for their hosts.

Chelsea to win, 2-1

Chelsea team news

13:15 , Matt Verri

Chelsea will field a much-changed team for today’s Conference League clash with Astana.

The Blues have won all four of their group stage games in the competition so far and sit top of the table, giving manager Enzo Maresca licence to prioritise Sunday’s Premier League meeting with west London Brentford by sparing key players the eight-hour flight.

“Some of [the senior players] are going to be here [at Cobham] and some of them are going to fly with us,” Maresca said on Wednesday. “More or less we try to manage in the same way we have done until today. We have many young players, 17 players with us and the rest are going to be here working.

“I think we are 11 or 12 players [staying in London] and eight or nine flying.”

Maresca confirmed that young full-back Josh Acheampong will be among the academy graduates involved against Astana and is expected to start.

Midfielder Cesare Casadei, who has featured in all four Conference League group games so far, is suspended after his late sending off against Heidenheim last month.

Predicted Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga; Dewsbury-Hall, Chukwuemeka; George, Vale, Neto; Guiu

How to watch Astana vs Chelsea

13:08 , Matt Verri

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 2. Coverage starts at 3pm GMT ahead of a 3:30pm kick-off.

Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.

Live blog: You can follow all the action right here, with expert analysis from Chelsea correspondent Malik Ouzia.

Good afternoon!

13:01 , Matt Verri

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Astana vs Chelsea!

Just the eight-hour flight for the Blues to Kazakhstan, and they will have to cope with temperatures dropping below minus-ten degrees. Lovely.

We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 3:30pm GMT from the Almaty Central Stadium.