The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
While Chelsea’s aim is fixed on clinching a place in the knockout stages with a fourth straight victory, Spartak’s players aren’t expecting too much.
Spartak is fourth in the Russian Premier League after an eight-match unbeaten streak but has lost players to injuries since losing 2-0 at home to Chelsea last month.
Spartak is three points behind Chelsea and can be joined on six points by Marseille if the French club wins at Slovakia’s Zilina in the other Group F match.
Spartak will be without Ari after the Brazilian striker picked up a thigh injury in last month’s 1-0 victory over Russian league leader Zenit St. Petersburg, while Austrian defender Martin Stranzl is also out after doctors diagnosed a similar injury Monday.
But Brazilian playmaker Alex is expected to play some part after recovering from the injury that kept him out of last month’s loss to Chelsea in Moscow and coach Valery Karpin is hoping some sightseeing in London will further buoy his players’ spirit.
“What are our plans in London? To walk around the city, to have a look at Stamford Bridge for those who haven’t done so yet,” Karpin said. “What else is there?”
Chelsea stayed five points clear of Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Blackburn on Saturday. The Blues have scored 27 goals in 10 Premier League matches and conceded only three.
Spartak midfielder Aiden McGeady is hoping the status of underdog frees his team to play some good football.
“Chelsea are expected to win every game they play, so for us it doesn’t make a difference,” the Scotland international said. “You want to win every game, but if not then a draw would be great.”
Marseille, which picked up its only points so far from a 1-0 win over Zilina last month, is missing midfielder Edouard Cisse after he failed to recover from a thigh injury.
Marseille must beat Zilina to retain a realistic chance of qualifying but its players should at least be fresh because Saturday’s league game against Rennes was called off after torrential rain on southern France.
“We don’t have any questions to ask ourselves, we know fully well that we’re going to Zilina to win,” Marseille midfielder Stephane Mbia said. “Then we can concentrate on the game in Moscow (against Spartak).”
The pressure is on striker Andre-Pierre Gignac after only one goal in 11 games since joining Marseille.
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
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