Chelsea’s impressive form will be severely tested by two eight-hour flights and temperatures well below freezing for their UEFA Conference League clash against Kazakhstan’s Astana, manager Enzo Maresca said on Wednesday.
Chelsea are second in the Premier League and being tipped as serious title contenders ahead of their weekend clash with London rivals Brentford.
Before they can focus on that derby, however, they must travel to the fringes of Asia, a trip made even longer because Astana’s home games have been moved 600 miles from the capital to Almaty because of stadium renovations.
The flight is also re-directed away from the conflict zone in Ukraine and Russia.
“Eight hours (one way) is not a normal time (to travel) for a game, but we have to go there, we have to play and we want to try to do our best, thinking also about the next game,” Maresca told reporters.
Chelsea are top of the Conference League table with four wins from four and Maresca has opted to leave several players at home including England winger Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer is not even registered for the third-tier competition.
