Champions League Group F preview: Chelsea aim for 18 points

Chelsea visit Marseille and Spartak Moscow travel to Slovakia to play MSK Zilina in Wednesday’s final matches in Champions League Group F.

But the standings are already decided, with Chelsea top on 15 points from Marseille on nine, while Spartak are third with six.

Although Spartak are only three points behind Marseille, the French side’s superior head-to-head record against the Russians mean they are secure in second place.

That means Chelsea and Marseille have already qualified for the last 16, while Spartak has secured a spot in the final 32 of the Europa League.

Zilina are bottom and will be searching for their first point of the campaign when they welcome Spartak on Wednesday.

The Russians will not be lying down against the bottom side, with the four best-performed third-place finishers from the group stages being awarded a seeding in the draw for the Europa League knockout stages.

With their passage into the next round already secure, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will probably field a weakened side in France and with his beleaguered squad’s form slipping in the English Premier League, several of his stars could use a break.

Frank Lampard, Alex and Yossi Benayoun are still out injured, while John Terry and Ashley Cole are not expected to make the trip ahead of a difficult league game against Spurs on Sunday.